Silent Masquerade
by Medusa Q
Summary: He just wanted to toy with her, to use her for her worth; he was a ruthless assassin and she was a cop, after all. So then, why would her soft voice draw him in every time she whispered his name in the darkness? ; — Len/Rin
1. mighty oaks from little acorns grow

author's note: This is the beginning of another brand new idea I had in my mind for a year (and it took me roughly about _seven_ months to actually have the guts to write its first chapter. Bravo, _bravo_.) Before you'd go ahead and start reading, I'd like to explain an important component of this fic; y'know, there's this number beside the chapter title (three digits, in this chapter's case, it is '000').

The number denotes the point of view that the chapter is written in; 000 represents Len's point of view, while 050 represents Rin's. That's just about it; I'm only writing things from the two of their viewpoints.

Don't ask why the random numbers; I just took some random numbers because I thought number-playing would be fun. Weehoo.

Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.

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><p>silent masquerade<br>(#1; mighty oaks from little acorns grow — 000)

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><p><em>Brooklyn, New york, USA.<em>

_Location: Maple Café_  
><em>Date: 10 February 20XX, Tuesday <em>  
><em>Time: 1200<em>

The café was richly furnished with a wide variety of chairs and tables that looked extremely pleasing to the eyes—finely polished furniture that had exotic intricate designs carved on them, beautifully painted walls with a soothing and warm color scheme that matched all of the furniture, and squeaky clean floor tiles that seemed to glitter from afar—it was_ far_ more than perfect.

It was different. Different from all the other café down the road, across the streets—all the café there didn't look that special because all they had were pieces of useless wooden pricks they deemed as "furniture", and chairs that creaked every time a customer sits on them—it would be an utter disgrace to deem those places as a proper café.

That was what Kagamine Len thought of this café. True, it might be a little too harsh for him to outright criticize those café brutally, but what he had stated were facts. It wasn't as though he had criticized them because he abhorred competition; those were merely his true thoughts.

A couple of whistling and whispers caught his attention, and he looked up abruptly at the bunch of women occupying the seats of the café. They were acting sneakily, whispering into one another's ears and giggling softly amongst themselves. By the looks of the blushes on their faces when they noticed him looking at them, Len could come to a conclusion that the women were hyperventiling over him.

_Women_…

He had charms, he'd admit. Of course he had them—he was a good looker, with a well-toned body and flawless tanned skinned that looked irresistible. His eyes were large and his features were distinctive and he had a glib tongue that uttered words that could easily seduce a woman into his bed.

One might very well accuse him of being a Casanova, because he really did possess all the qualities of a playboy. And he was very successful at that, mind you.

But he wasn't that type of man, per se. He might flirt with women once in a while, occasionally brushing his fingers or skin against theirs, but never would he go to the extent of toying with a woman's feelings.

Unless if his job calls for it, then yes, he'd bring himself to go to that extent.

His lips curled and he smirked, turning away from the women that squealed in delight when he did so. With steps as graceful and as stealthy as a cat's, he brought himself over to the counter, placing down the tray he was holding onto the surface of the table.

Then, he felt a presence approaching him and it didn't take him long to realize that it was his emerald-haired female companion.

Gumi.

She stared at the crowd for a while, then scoffed and turned away from them, expressing her apparent dislike for the bunch of ladies that were drooling over Len. This earned a chuckle from Len—he knew how Gumi was like, and how possessive she was, even if he really didn't like her in _that _way. He just didn't see her the same way she saw him.

"Pfft," Gumi mumbled, pouting like a silly five-year old, "And there you go, another bunch of crackpots who'd waste their time in this café because of your great presence here!"

"At least I know that I don't need to hire anymore of those lazy workers that give out flyers or pamphlets," Len breathed out, smiling lazily. He started humming a strange tune, one that seemed to have originated from a children's folklore, and poured himself some Earl's gray tea with the pot of kettle on the table, and the small porcelain cup beside it.

"Here." He offered Gumi the cup. "I suppose you would like a sip to appease that anger of yours?"

"Hah!" She exclaimed loudly, drawing attention from the bunch of ladies that were still sitting down there, now with magazines in their hands. They looked pretentious, and fact was, they were just pretending to read because Gumi and Len could see them occasionally looking to the side, to where Len was situated at.

And they could tell that Gumi was fuming mad. Well, who wouldn't? She had a dark face, a deathly aura, and horns of a devil himself. She looked extremely infuriated.

"Tea doesn't make me any less angry, Len," Gumi muttered, exaggerating the pout on her face by sulking even more. To some men, it might be attractive or even seductive, because the way Gumi pouted her delicious pink-tinted lips, was, well, very… unique. She looked good while sulking; there was no denying it.

But Len didn't feel anything. He knew she was trying to seduce him or to flirt with him and at least get him to respond to her but it really wasn't having its effects on him.

"Ah," Len uttered politely, offering her a mock bow that caused her face to turn beet-red immediately. The women behind started squealing again. "Then, what do I have to do to have the honor of being forgiven by you, your highness?"

"Goodness gracious!"

"He's so _hot_!"

"My gosh… He's like _my_ prince charming, I swear! That girl's so lucky!"

He could hear the vague sounds of the women gasping, and screaming with excitement. Of course, he paid no heed to those words because he had been hearing them almost everyday. There were tons of women complimenting him and his polite manners when they'd patronize the café.

But Gumi… Gumi couldn't turn a blind eye to all of this. And yes, he was right, for Gumi's face turned as red as the Lambert cherries inside the countryside's farms. If she had looked furious before, then she looked absolutely deranged now. Her eyes were bloodshot with fury and her lips were quivering with anger. If looks could kill, then yes, she'd have managed to murder a lion or a tigress with that look of hers.

She whirled around, and Len braced himself for the impact.

"You are all just girls! _Kids_! What do you know, huh?" She screamed over the counter, her eyes looking as though they would pop out any moment, "Go back and get another wannabe man to look at; Len's _mine_! Stare at him once more, and I shall gorge your eyes out of those murky depths of your sockets!"

The ladies flinched, Len noticed. They looked offended and hurt, as if they were disappointed to find him associated with a tigress like her. Nevertheless, they continued to whisper amongst themselves before packing up their belongings and scurrying out of the café like heaps of mice.

Len frowned. He didn't bother to correct Gumi about him being her's; he'd already done so in the past but she'd just continue teasing him with that like there's no tomorrow. Not that he minded anyway; Gumi was in no way a stranger to him. Well, maybe not as close as what people would call "friends", but close enough to sit down and chat over a cup of tea.

He watched with amusement flickering in his eyes as Gumi stomped to the place where the women were sitting at just now, and cleared the bunches of cups and plates on the table. Her hands looked as though they were ready to punch anyone in the face or crush an elephant… really, Len didn't get why she was so upset over this.

"Well." He picked up the cup of tea on the table. Luckily for him, it was still piping hot; teas were only meant to be savored when hot. He brought the tea to his lips and took a sip from it. "I thought teas would bring me good favor, but I suppose it isn't the case now, Miss Gumi?"

"Obviously not, Len!" Gumi exclaimed, now walking back to where the basin was. She dumped all of the cups inside and let the water run down from the tap, glaring at the cups as though they had done something in their previous lives to offend her. "Did you even _see_ how they were looking at you? They were looking at you as though they wanted to bed you!"

Len raised his brows. Now, this was interesting. 'Bed'? It was a… very interesting way to put things, but yes, he did saw how those women were looking at him, and no, he did not think that way. They were merely looking at him in a daze, as though they were infatuated with him, but his mind did not wander that far to think about them wanting to be in bed with him.

"That's crass," Len whispered haughtily, taking another sip of the tea. It didn't taste as warm as it felt like it should. "Normally I'd think those words would only be aimed at a woman, not a man like me."

"I'm just saying." Gumi closed the tap and walked back to the table with a tablecloth, vigorously scrubbing the dirt and grime stuck on the surface of the table. It didn't come out as easily as it should.

"I wonder what those women do," She complained, "Using the forks and spoons as though they'd never seen one before! They haven't even had the courtesy to remove the bits and pieces of junk on the table!"

"I thought that was _your_ job." Len sighed.

"Heck, it is, but who the hell leaves such a mess behind after eating at such a high-class café?" Gumi retorted, giving up at the last bit of grime left on the table. She clicked her tongue with an annoyed look on her face, and made her way back to the basin.

"Maybe it isn't as high class as we think it to be." Len chuckled.

"Ah, quit it, Len," Gumi smirked, stopping in her tracks with the tablecloth in her hand. She scooted closer to Len, purposely letting her skin come into contact with his. He didn't flinch or move away; he didn't resist, but he wasn't amused by it either. "Stop trying to act modest, oh you pretentious man!"

Now, she was the first one that he had come across to actually openly accuse him of being pretentious. Not that he was offended or anything, though. He just didn't expect a girl to see through him that easily. True, he was pretentious, but that was only during times he had to pretend. Times like when he was running his _part-time job._

"You haven't appeased me, you sly man!" Gumi uttered, moving away from him and back to the basin. She threw the cloth inside it and allowed the tap to run freely once more. The sound of the water gushing out from the hole destroyed the silence within the atmosphere.

Len smiled. He knew what she was hinting at, oh yes he did. "Dinner then, tonight? I suppose you'll want to have dinner down at my place?"

"You'll whip up a few dishes for me!" Gumi shouted gleefully from the basin as though she was afraid that the sound of the water would muffle her voice. "I want you to cook personally! No takeaways or anything!"

Just when Len was about to give her an affirmative answer and also tease her about how she was behaving like a desperate girl wanting to buy a candy at the provision shop, he could feel the familiar ring tone and vibrations of his cell phone in his pocket. With a frown, he picked it up reluctantly.

"Yes, this is Kagamine Len of the Maple café. How may I help you, sir?"

The other line was unclear. It was buzzing, and the voice was slightly distorted, but Len could recognize that rough, masculine voice anywhere.

"_Tonight. You have a new job waiting for you."_

He smiled. "Good. I was hoping you'd say that."

Behind him, Gumi's ears twitched. She could sense the seriousness in his tone, and the way he spoke was… it was different. It wasn't like Len; it didn't sound like him at all. She quickly closed the tap and pretended to continue cleaning the dishes even though they were already done, secretly trying to eavesdrop on his conversation.

She wanted to know what they were talking about. Recently, he'd been getting those mysterious calls… No, ever since she knew him, he'd have those phone calls. They were irritating, to say the least. They were destroying her hopes of furthering her relationship with him!

Of course, Len wasn't dumb. Len wasn't a moron; he wasn't an idiot. He knew she was eavesdropping on him, and hence, he began to speak as though the person on the other line was another customer who wanted a delivery, even going to the extent of recording down his address after pretending to ask for it and idly writing down a nonexistent one.

"Ah. Yes, yes. I shall have them delivered tonight."

Gumi swiftly turned away her head from him when he stopped talking with the other person. Well, it did sound like he was doing some business transaction, but then again, she could be wrong. She was always wrong. Len didn't trust her. He didn't even tell her what he was doing and why there were that many unknown calls for him.

She didn't expect him to trust her, of course. She was the one with that one-sided love crap thingy. She loved him as a _man_, yes, but he didn't see her as a proper woman. He was deceptive, treating her like she was a princess, a queen, and he didn't even push her aside at times when she hinted to him that she wanted to be more than just friends, but she knew that deep down in his heart, he was just being prudent. He didn't want to show his real thoughts or real feelings towards her.

He… He was pretending. He was pretentious.

He was afraid. But, of what?

Gumi had to know. So, she did the next best thing she could do—to probe.

With a sly look on her face, she put a false front and acted like an innocent child who had lost her way in the forest.

"Len, what was that all about?"

"Oh?" Len grinned, whipping around to look at her. "Well, it was a call meant for me to request for delivery service. I suppose we've gotten a pretty good reputation now, haven't we?"

Gumi sighed. This was no answer. She wasn't a dummy; she knew that he was lying. Don't ask how, because it was just her instincts. "I suppose. But why don't you let me do the delivery service instead? I can handle it pretty well."

"Why," Len muttered, "I have no reason to let a lady do the runs for the café, do I? Such a chore should only be left for the men! We don't want to have your hands calloused, do we?"

Gumi frowned.

He wasn't giving her an answer. He was running away from the topic. Excuses, excuses… she knew. Ah, but he was such a sweet-talker, such a polite gentleman… it was impossible to not fall for a perfect man like him!

"I think the dinner would have to be postponed," Len said, "I apologize."

Gumi did not bother to retort against him.

She knew that deep down, there was a different meaning behind his apology. 

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><p><em>Location: ? <em>  
><em>Date: 10 February 20XX, Tuesday <em>  
><em>Time: 1900<em>

The lights were dim. The candles were lit and the luminous flames were dancing amidst the darkness, casting a shadow on the walls. The hallway was large and empty, and it was spookily quiet. Not a sound was uttered or heard along this corridor.

Kagamine Len walked along the pathway, his steps as light as a feather. He had already changed into another pair of appropriate attire; instead of wearing the black vest over his white dress shirt like just now, he had a dark coat over his shirt that reached his knees, and a pair of gloves that fit his hands snuggly. If anything, he looked extremely different.

He came to a halt in front of an ancient painting, the _Le Wagon de troisième classe_. If he could recall, this was a painting done by the painter, Honoré Daumier. Of course, he had no fascination with paintings and art or literature, but he definitely had a fascination with its _worth_.

With nimble movements, he moved to where the nearest candle was—to the far right of the wall. He wrapped his fingers around the kinara attached to the wall, and tilted it slightly.

The painting began to move. It moved to the left, and the sounds that resembled walls crumbling seemed to echo in the silence. In place of where the painting should be, was a bright passageway; the walls were white, and it seemed to lead to a never-ending place… it was in a complete contrast to the ground that Len was standing onto right now.

He made his way through the passageway, and continued his way inside, surveying his surroundings as if he were new here.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination.

At the end of the passageway was a metallic door that seemed foolproof; it looked as though it wouldn't be destroyed no matter how many bullets went through it's surface. Beside it, though, was a communication device of some sort, with a few buttons with numerical values on it.

Len didn't even have to do anything. The door opened on its own.

And he stepped inside, yes he did. It was empty, save for a few computers and a white sofa that sat on the middle of the spacious room. On the walls, however, were different types of guns, all strapped properly in its rightful positions. There was a rifle, a shotgun, an M25, and others that Len couldn't be bothered to look at.

"Hi." That familiar masculine voice, the same as the one who made the phone call, caused Len to look up. Indeed, it was _him_; there was no mistaking the hues of those bright strands of hair that were was smooth and as silky as a ballerina's. Nobody else could have the audacity to dye their hair in such a ridiculous hue of lavender, especially when one was going to be seen in public. That was just outright attention-seeking.

Len resisted the urge to break into fits of unceremonious laughter when he heard him with a greeting that sounded too… formal… for such an event.

"Well," The man, dressed in a white coat, uttered, "You sure took your own sweet time to get here."

"Believe me when I said I did try my best," Len replied calmly, "As soon as I got the phone call, I rushed out of work and got here. Needless to say, I… _almost_… encountered some difficulties along the way."

After he had left his workplace, the persistent girl Gumi had tailed him through the city, thinking that he'd be ignorant enough not to notice anything amiss. However, unfortunately for her, he was fairly experienced in that area since he was used to being tailed by people—especially by _policemen_—and hence he was able to spot her and lose her quickly with his stealthy moves and his knowledge of the routes in the city.

Of course, he'd be able to guess how infuriated she would be after what he'd done… she would be able to know that he already knew she was tailing him and she'd start whining about how he was trying to hide secrets from her again.

The man cringed at that. "I believe you're referring to your employee?"

"That's not important, Gakupo. I think we have better things to focus on."

"And you're right." Gakupo thinned his lips, folding his arms neatly across his chest. His tone immediately turned serious, and he walked over to where one of the laptops was. Len followed him from behind, making a mental note to keep his personal affairs out of his mind right now—he didn't want to think about explaining to Gumi, or anything for that matter.

"So, what's in for us this time?" Len questioned, watching as the screen flickered.

"Well," Gakupo chimed in, typing a code of some sort into the system. He was _fast_, Len noticed, but he wasn't as fast as him. Not that he was bragging, but nobody could be better than him at doing jobs like this particular one. He was a professional. He didn't have mixed feelings about this job of his; he enjoyed it even more than that other job of his, which was quite a chore—to be honest, Len hated managing a café because it took a lot of work, but he had to do so, to have an alibi in case of an emergency.

"What's this?" Len asked as images of an entrancing jewel popped up on the screen. It was captivating beyond words; the workmanship was splendid, with the jewel in the form of a tear drop, and every single detail engraved on its golden surface made it look extremely expensive and special; there was no doubt that this was a rare catch, a rare find.

"As you can see, it's a jewel," Gakupo explained, biting his lips, "I know what you are thinking, and yes. You are correct. This jewel is worth more than you can ever imagine because it's extremely rare; only the nobles are told to have seen it. Even rare treasure hunters haven't had proof for its existence yet… nobody knows where it is located in the world—it could be anywhere, London, Japan, or even France.

"It is titled 'Crown's tears'. According to legends, it is formed after a Royal Consort, who had been cast out of the palace by the king, cried for her loss of power. I don't know the exact details, and I couldn't care less, honestly, but that's what I heard. And that's what the client wants… apparently."

"Hmm." Len pursed his lips to think. "So the client wants us to look for the jewel and to get it for him? What's in for us?"

"Money, I guess. He's got a hell load of money. Not to mention that his influence on the yakuzas in Japan is heavy… it would be good for us to get on his good side."

"What?" Len said, incredulous, "Why?"

"It's good for us to form allies with the Mafia or any organizations that may be of help to us," Gakupo explained, "That way, when we get into trouble, we have help coming to our way. We won't be left in the cold. Just a thought."

"We don't need help; Goodness gracious, Gakupo, we are _assassins_! Assassins like us don't need help because we could never be caught, not by the state or the police for that matter!"

Gakupo clicked his tongue, feeling annoyed. "You can never be too sure, buddy."

"Anyway, why are we stealing stuff? I thought we were supposed to assassinate people. That's our job."

"Yes," Gakupo chirped, "But remember, _assassins_ have no attachment for anything in life. It is our duty to do the things that is best for our own sake; we don't give a damn about other people, including their lives, if you ask me. As long as there are advantages for us, then why not? This job's easy.

"Besides, you don't even have to locate the jewel. The client's got the information for us, apparently. He's stupid enough to make a loss by giving us less work and paying us with more money. What a fool. Judging by your skills, I'd bet that you could complete this job in less then… I'd say… fifteen minutes."

Len looked pleased. He was sold; the idea actually sounded sound and logical to him.

A devious smirk appeared on his face. "Consider it done."

Tomorrow was going to be a long night.

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><p>(<em>what you think may not be the truth<em>)

author's note: End of chapter one. I've already got four of these chapters done, but I'll check them for safety measures (cough) and keep them under the 'T' rating. For now, I'll complete up till chapter eight or so before I publish the next chapter; the juice is flowing into my mind! My mind is actually very much sane right now! Yoohoo! And I actually know what I'm doing for the first time in my life! I know where this story's going!

That reminds me... I haven't updated "The Red Spade" and I apologize for procrastinating! It's just that... my mind has been blank as of late, and I actually have plans in stored for TRS (I had a plansheet which i created for TRS and it actually covered up to chapter 18 or so) but i cannot bring myself to start writing the next chapter!

Of course, that fic is like my baby - I love it, and I will never abandon it. I will get the next chapter sorted out and published within the next few weeks or so... but meanwhile, keep a lookout for Silent Masquerade; i throw my muses inside this fic, so who knows what might happen? -cackles-

side note: So you know, there's this... erm... game... AND IT'S "THE LEGEND OF ZELDA : SKYWARD SWORD" BUT WHY IS IT TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME TO BE RELEASED JDSHFKJNWELJC

I swear, my inner self is craving for another exciting game... ME WANTS POKEMON BACK, AND INTO THE WII AT THAT BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY SYSTEM I HAVE! Ooh, the nostalgia... Okay, time to watch Ultraman.

While we're at it, care to** _review_**? Heh heh, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And I'll even start a poll to see if people want Silent Masquerade or TRS on their priority list - the one that'll be completed first.


	2. enter the lady investigator!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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><p>silent masquerade<br>(#2; enter the lady investigator — 050)

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><p><em>Brooklyn, New york, USA.<em>

_Location: Thieves hideout _  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday <em>  
><em>Time: 10 00<em>

The girl hid behind one of the bushes, her hands encircled in a pistol. She was squatting down, sweat dribbling from her face to her jaws. Her shoulder-length golden-blonde hair cascaded down her neck, stuck to her skin like leeches, and the sweat-soaked strands of hair obscured her view of the deserted house lying in front of her sight.

She stared at the old and battered house tensely, with the pistol pressed firmly to the side of her face. Her eyes were determined and focused, and not once did they leave the scene. Behind her, though, were several other cops that followed her lead. Instead of watching the scene intently, they were examining their nails in absolute boredom, and some of them were even starting to show signs of dozing off.

The girl's ears perked with interest when she heard a few sounds coming from within the house in front of her. Tightening her grip on the pistol, she made her way to the right, being careful not to reveal herself to the enemy, or to show herself in an open space, and crossed over to the back of the house. The men swiftly followed behind her, but the girl could hear sounds of protests coming from them.

It annoyed her to no end; she was expecting perfect cooperation, not a wrecked-up team formed by conflicting personalities and beliefs. If so, how were they supposed to be able to work together to nab those cowardly brutes?

"Quiet!" She commanded, lowering her pistol to the ground. She flattened herself on the walls of the abandoned house, and crept slowly and steadily to where the entrance was located, being prudent enough to avoid lines of sight, especially windows and holes on the walls.

By the looks of it, the people inside weren't doing anything; it was strangely silent. Normally if she'd walked past the hideout of a few minor criminals, they'd be laughing merrily, creating a big hoo-ha within their own space. Such silence disturbed the girl; what exactly were they doing inside?

"Now, guys, when I count to three, we all barge inside and arrest those thieves." The girl turned to face them, only to notice that some of them were rather annoyed with how she was handling things from here. Apparently, the girl couldn't be bothered about them and their pesky little opinions. "Is that clear? I want no mistakes this time. Everyone is to do their job!"

"Yes Ma'am!" The men answered, though the look on their faces proved otherwise. _No ma'am. We don't want to go inside. Not now. Not this time, because…_

"One." The girl analyzed her surroundings; according to the map she'd found on the Internet, there were little potential areas of escapes that these thieves could use. The only entrance or exit to this abandoned little house was via this door, which was the reason as to why she had ordered some of the men to keep a lookout for this door in order to set up an ambush for the thieves residing in this hideout.

"Two…" She trailed off, preparing herself for what was to come. Behind the doors could be several severely dangerous thieves that were properly armed with fatal life-threatening weapons such as a grenade, or… maybe a chainsaw. Chainsaws shouldn't be underestimated; she'd seen movies where people were massacred by chainsaws.

"Three!" She shouted, and almost immediately, she threw herself towards the door…

… Only to find it _unlocked_.

As a result of her imprudence, her whole body collapsed towards the floor after the door gave way and she winced in pain as the cement hit her spine and her tailbone. It wasn't a serious hit, but it still _hurt_ a lot.

But that wasn't the only thing that resulted from her imprudence—the house… was completely empty. There was not a single soul inside.

Not a single thief.

No criminal.

She could hear the faint whisperings of the men behind her. Some of them were complaining and some of them were muttering about how careless she was, but she didn't bother to correct them.

"There she goes _again_—yayaya, and then, voila! It's all a _ruse_!"

"How many times has it been? Ten? I've lost count—she's always getting the wrong information for things! We'll _never_ complete our jobs!"

"I knew I shouldn't have transferred to the department under her—I want to go back to Kaito sir's department!"

"Crap! We're getting it again this time! Madame Sakine is going to _kill_ us for this!"

"And multiple cops have been deployed out for this mission! Even cops that were supposed to be following the recent murder case in central Brooklyn has been sent to her department! Poor Colonel Kaito's got a shortage of manpower because of _her_! Look what we got—"

The girl resisted the urge to rub her temples at the chaos behind her. She picked herself up, barely concealing the look of shame and embarrassment on her face, evident with the tint of cherry-pink on her face.

She was so going to get screwed on the head.

By that renowned harpy, no less.

* * *

><p><em>Location: Lieutenant's office <em>  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday <em>  
><em>Time: 13 00<em>

"Explain," Sakine Meiko ordered strictly with a look of anger on her face, "Why you came back with _nothing_ despite the fact that most manpower has already been sent to you, as requested."

_Nothing? _Rin thought to herself silently, _it wasn't all for nothing, I knew there were crooks inside but I really don't know where in heaven's sake they'd went!_

The girl lowered her gaze onto the floor, as if there was something amusing there that had caught her attention. She couldn't bring herself to look up at her superior because she knew that she had been such a letdown to her; every single time she had asked and demanded for more manpower, her mission would end up in failure. She didn't know why.

She didn't think it was her fault, of course; no way in heavens would she put the blame on herself. It wasn't her fault; it was just time's fault! Perhaps it was because they were a tiny-winy bit late by a few seconds, or perhaps they'd got a glimpse of the cops approaching, and therefore took the opportunity to make a dash for it before they'd managed to arrive and brought them away in those striking little cars they had.

"Rin!" The woman behind the table growled, demanding for attention. The deepness of her voice sent shivers down Rin's spine and caused Rin to flinch momentarily.

"Y-Yes! Lieutenant!" Rin immediately responded. She didn't want to incur the wrath of this ferocious woman any further; her job was at stake here. Even if she didn't like it, she'd have to follow… but it wasn't her fault, was it not? She was merely doing her job well! True, it might be her who had insisted that she would definitely nab those crooks this time, but it wasn't her fault that the conclusion would be the same as any other time!

The shade on the ferocious lieutenant's face was crimson with fury, just like the shade of the carpet that adorned the floor Rin was stepping on. She was very much afraid; she looked as though she could strangle Rin any moment, or have her gun pointed at her forehead in an instance.

"You!" Meiko roared, pointing accusingly at Rin, "This was not the first time you've made such a blunder! You've shamed your department, and your colleagues have lost trust and faith in you!"

"I know!" Wailed Rin, "I know! Please, forgive me! It won't happen again, I swear—"

"—That was _exactly _what you told me last time, Rin! You've said this over and over, but have you really done it? No! You're incorrigible, Rin—this line is not suited for you!"

"But I—" Rin gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to have another chance of explaining herself.

"Silence!" Meiko interrupted her coolly. "I shall hear no more of such nonsense from you! I thought of transferring you to other departments, or maybe have the Colonel teach you a lesson or two on how to be a better officer, but you… you don't change!

"Surrender your pistol, now. I'm putting you on suspension—you are to be suspended until further notice. Meanwhile, go and reflect on what you can do as an enforcer of the country's law! Brooklyn has no need for someone like you!"

Rin winced inwardly. It was harsh, hearing those words spewing out from her superior's mouth. She wasn't sure if it was really meant to be an insult, or if it were a way to make her reflect upon her own actions and change, but either way, she didn't want to surrender her belongings; she was an investigator, a law-enforcer, someone who fought crimes! She wasn't going to give up that easily, no, she wouldn't.

She was going to follow the footsteps of her mother. She was going to fight crimes. She was going to be a successful law-enforcer like _she_ was, even if she wasn't a prosecutor like her mom—Reia Lynn.

She had to… she couldn't give up now. She was so close, so close… If she worked harder, if she tried to capture all of the criminals lurking in the dark, murky depths of New York City's alleyway, then perhaps… perhaps she could find _that person._

"No ma'am," Rin willed her courage to utter those words, words that could have signified defiance against her superior, words that might get her into further trouble than she already is in… but what difference would it make, for her? "No, ma'am. I don't want to follow orders! Not this time round, please!"

"What?" Meiko uttered, her voice lined with shock. Her eyes widened and she gaped at Rin's insolent behavior. She was retorting back at her superior! Did she have guts of steel? Was she not afraid of losing more than what she already has lost?

"What the heck? Are you… Did I _hear_ you correctly? Are you actually threatening me? Are you _defying_ my orders?"

Rin showed a grim look. "Ma'am, _please_—"

"I gave you enough as it is! What more do you expect from me, you—"

"Please, I deserve another—"

Meiko looked absolutely livid. "Be quiet! If everyone could get away with their faults that easily, then the whole department would be full of loopholes and insolent _brats_ like you who doesn't take their jobs seriously—"

"_Please_!"

Meiko stared at the pleading girl in front of her. Her face looked pained, her eyes were filled with something that screamed for attention—she didn't look quite right. She was nervous, Meiko could tell. Her lips were trembling with fear and her cheeks were no longer as rosy as they should be. They were pale.

She didn't get why this girl in front of her was so desperate for a chance to be given to her; she knew that she'd already given her multiple opportunities, but why was she so insistent on staying? It was just a suspension! She'd be called back the moment they were short of manpower, or the moment she saw her fit to be back at work!

Yet, she seemed to be exaggerating things.

"Ma'am," Rin spoke, sounding as though there was something caught in her breath. It came out more like a whine. "I promise you, I assure you… this would be the end of it. I want one more chance, Ma'am, just one. If I can't nab a single crook even after this chance has been given to me, then I'll resign; I'll leave by myself. I'll go. _Willingly_."

Meiko managed to stop herself from gasping. The way Rin talked… sounded as though she was writing a will before her final struggle with life. It sounded so grim, so determined, and so _peculiar_. No matter, Meiko didn't want to single-handedly crush that child's dream, no matter how small it was; she might be able to really succeed this time round.

Who knows?

Besides… her tone was…

"Alright," Meiko said, hoping that she wouldn't regret any of her decisions, "Alright. _One_ more chance."

In front of her, the child let out a relieved sigh that she had been holding back ever since she'd set foot into the lieutenant's office.

She was safe.

* * *

><p><em>Location: Bartlett Street, Brooklyn, New York city <em>  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday <em>  
><em>Time: 15 00<em>

Her footsteps felt extremely heavy as she trotted down the crowded parts of Brooklyn's streets. She could hear silent whispers, sweet mumblings and whatnot coming from the noisy bunch of people who occasionally brushed past her in a hurry, but all of these seem to appear as incoherent murmurs in the depths of her preoccupied mind.

When some of these people rammed into her by accident, they immediately apologized to refrain from getting into any trouble with the fellow investigator. Perhaps it was because her face was dark and her nostrils were flared; it gave a rather good portrayal of a devil in an angel's disguise and it was the ultimate representation of death itself; she looked like a pseudo-murderer. Or perhaps it was because of the fact that she was properly clad in a silky black jacket that had one of the police's badges embroidered into its top right breast pocket; it gave her a sense of authority, but also reminded the public that she was a law-enforcer, one that could not be easily trifled with.

As such, when somebody rammed into her brutally and did not even have the decency to utter words of apology, she glared daggers into that person in front of her to have a better look at him, but apparently his head was bowed down and his hood was veiling his prominent features from being displayed.

_Suspicious_, Rin thought.

And she was right.

Almost instantly after the man had banged into her, a voice resonated from beside Rin, from somewhere within the alleyway. Rin always had a sharp vision; she was able to even spot the tiny little ants crawling on the speckle of dust on the inspector's table, so she took no difficulty trying to spot the source of that cry. When she did look, she briefly caught a glimpse of a girl with shoulder-length emerald-like hair standing behind one of the barrels placed beside a wall.

"Help!" She cried desperately, her voice cracking.

She wasn't sure what happened, but as soon as the man heard her cries of help, he turned and took off, dashing across the streets with his hand secured on the hood he was wearing. He took off clumsily, and Rin could spot him in the distance, trying to blend in with the crowd but of course, he did a rather horrendous job at it.

Rin was convinced that he had something to do with the poor girl's cries of help.

Hence, she followed him from behind, making her way through the excited bunch of crowd that seemed to be aware of what was transpiring between them. She had a hard time pushing through everyone, even having the courtesy to apologize after she'd almost crashed into an innocent bystander with a toddler in his hands, but not once did she falter; she continued to chase after the man like a predator chasing its prey with unwavering speed.

The man seemed to know that she was catching up, for he panicked for a moment or two. He turned to see how much further Rin had to go to catch up with him, and that was truly a mistake, because it sealed his fate; the moment he did that, he missed the large metal pole in front of him and as a result, he collapsed and fell backwards upon coming into contact with the stiff object.

It was all Rin needed to catch up with him.

She twisted both of his wrists and rendered him immobile before she pushed him flat-face to the ground, removing that hood of his and then taking a closer inspection of him.

He looked like a horrible mess. His face was scarred in every way possible, and his skin looked it was marred by a sharp object; it looked as though his face had been cut into half and then sewn back together with a needle. Well, that was how Rin thought of things, but Rin's thoughts were always crude. Period.

"What did you do to the girl?" She spat, her voice trembling with rage, "Speak!"

"W-what?" The man shivered beneath her torturous grasp. "I have n-no idea what the heck you're on about!"

"Don't lie!" She screamed, her own voice ringing in her ears, "I saw it with my own eyes! You did something to her!"

"T-the hell?"

"You'd better come clean with me! I'll take you back for further inspection if you do not—"

"—Wait!"

Rin turned her head to look at the newcomer that stood shyly in front of her. That voice… she could remember it, she had heard it just now, in the alleyway. She was the girl who had been crying for help.

Upon closer examination of the girl, Rin realized that the girl was panting, gasping for air and greedily breathing more oxygen than she should. It looked as though she had came running all the way from another country… she looked so tired, so lost.

"I caught him," Rin mumbled, flashing her a toothy smile, "Don't worry!"

And she stared. The unknown girl with hair that had a strange hue of emerald stared at her with a look of bewilderment, her eyes penetrating deep into Rin's softer ones. Her face was flushed, and she cleared her throat as if she was preparing for some speech that got her extremely nervous.

"Umm," The girl started, "You know…"

Rin lifted her gaze off of the girl in front of her and let her gaze linger on the man that she'd nabbed. He wasn't moving now—he looked as though he had given up trying to get her off of him. _Strange_.

Rin might have never successfully nabbed a criminal before, but she definitely has had her share of interrogating some of them before, or successfully catching some of those thugs that had committed minor crimes, like this one below her. However, when she'd managed to get them pinned down beneath her, all of them shared a common trait—they'd struggle to get free, all the while throwing insults and showing off their wonderfully colorful vocabulary to the investigator.

This one… was silent.

"I thought he stole my wallet," The girl started off again, "And… well, I managed to find it… miraculously. It was in the pocket of my coat."

_Oh_. So, it had been a misunderstanding all along? Was that what she was trying to tell Rin? That this person here she'd caught was an innocent man after all?

_No_.

"Then, why did he run?" Rin questioned inquisitively. The man beneath her started writhing until she loosened her grasp on his wrists.

"Of course I ran!" He bellowed, "You looked like you wanted to murder me when you heard her shout! I thought you wanted to kill me! How was I to know?"

She let a brief moment of silence pass through them; it seemed like it was all a misunderstanding, but was she able to just let him go like that? It was humiliating, to have caught the wrong person! Of course, she did consider all of the possible scenarios that could have happened; he might be lying, for his own sake, but the victim… even the girl had mentioned that it was a misunderstanding.

She had no reason to have him detained.

She felt heat being absorbed into her cheeks and it did felt like they were on fire. With a few nervous sighs, she let the man go free, watching as the man slowly got onto his knees and then shooting her a glare before he'd left them alone.

The girl giggled nervously. "I guess… I got you into all of this? Sorry."

"It's… okay," Rin mumbled, but her heart said otherwise. _No it isn't okay. It's happened tons of times before but it isn't okay._

She wasn't going to blame the innocent girl, though; anyone in their right mind who'd lost their wallet after coming into contact with another suspicious looking person who naturally accuse the other of having stolen their property! Besides, that man really did look like a thug. His face… it reminded Rin of the Mafia and its association.

If anything, she was to blame for making such a rash move.

"I guess… you wouldn't mind if I made it up to you, would you?" The girl flashed her a sheepish grin, offering her hand to the female investigator.

Rin took her hand. "It's alright, I—"

"No! I caused this. Please, allow me to make it up to you."

"But I—"

"Don't decline my offer," She pleaded, and it looked like Rin didn't have a choice here, "Please, come with me; I have a café nearby that offers freshly brewed tea and coffee… perfect for calming and soothing your nerves!"

Rin sighed. She didn't really mind a cup of coffee anyway; she'd been craving for more caffeine since the start of a horrible day.

She nodded, and let the girl lead her through the streets.

* * *

><p>(<em>because i don't even know you<em>)

Author's note: Not a very long chapter, but the next chapter will make up for it. Next chapter; Len meets Rin -le gasp- (finally), what would happen to the both of them?

Keep your eyes peeled for the next TRS update... which is about, tomorrow, I'd say! :3

Oh, aaand, does anyone here have any good Wii games to recommend me? I mean, I want something that's like a stimulation game. I was considering "Harvest Moon: Animal Parade" and "Harvest Moon: Tree Of Tranquility" because I have been a rabid harvest moon fan for _years _(of course you can't tell; I don't even tell it to my friends!) but I don't know which one's better, though I heard that the former has good looking bachelors? -cough-

**Review**? Thanks everyone :)


	3. first meeting, first impressions

**A/N**: The number denotes the point of view that the chapter is written in; 000 represents Len's point of view, while 050 represents Rin's. That's just about it; I'm only writing things from the two of their viewpoints.

Thanks to the reviewers for reviewing the last chapter—I didn't reply because I'm dead beat because of a long day at the beach... -sighs- Sorry. This chapter is dedicated to you all.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

><p>silent masquerade<br>(#3; first meeting, first impressions - 000)

* * *

><p><em>Brooklyn, New york, USA.<em>

_Location: Maple café _  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday <em>  
><em>Time: 16 00<em>

Today was very much a less busy day for Kagamine Len; He didn't have to tend to that many customers at one go since the café was completely empty (and he didn't know why, but he did suspect that the scene yesterday was part of the reason why), and a certain emerald-haired girl was missing in action, leaving him to tend to the customers alone, if there were even any.

He felt _nothing_. It was a problem because people in his position would definitely feel at least a pang of guilt or perhaps sympathetic for Gumi because of what he'd done to her yesterday, losing her and all, but he… he didn't feel a single thing. That was the problem with him, in all honesty; He was devoid of emotions that a normal human would at least feel.

Maybe it had been his _job_, and yes, his _other _job, that had changed him, or maybe he had already been like this since the day he set foot to Earth. Being an assassin required him to change identities or falsify some, and also, he'd actually had to possess a heart of steel, an unwavering, brutal heart that would not budge no matter what happened. This changed him; he knew, he felt it, and he could see his emotions gradually slipping away from him until he starting to actually feel _numb_, and there was even a point of time when he even _doubted_ himself to be human.

_Perhaps I am better off being a robot. _He'd thought to himself as he wondered why he was this… empty.

He was interrupted from his own thoughts, however, when he saw the familiar pale complexion of his employee slipping through the glass door. She was quiet, she looked like she was normal, but she didn't close the door as soon as she opened it; she seemed to be waiting for something… it seemed odd. _What was she doing_?

_Ah, _Len thought_. _She'd brought her friend here. _So it seems_.

And then he'd saw the new girl who slipped in together with Gumi. She was fair, perhaps as fair as Gumi, or even fairer, and her skin seemed to glisten under the lightings of the café. It looked like it was glowing healthily. Her jacket was thick and it concealed the curves that she might have possessed, but even with the thickness of the jacket, she looked thin… she looked anorexic.

Her hair was like his. It was like mustard-yellow, yes. An unusual color for the hair, but it could never be as unusual as Gumi's or Gakupo's.

But that wasn't what he was looking at. That wasn't his focus.

Kagamine Len glanced at the badge embroidered on the girl's jacket—it was no doubt the police badge. She was a freaking _cop_. Or someone somewhere along the lines. This was truly ironic… he was a master assassin, he was famous, and he'd bet the cops knew him well because he'd commit some major crimes before, and he even had a nickname for himself… and this girl, a cop, was actually standing in front of him, patronizing his café!

"Please, come in, Rin! I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me!" He heard Gumi said, and he quickly diverted his attention away from the both of them, lest they caught him staring.

Rin, was it? Well, this was new. He'd never heard of Rin before… He'd heard of Colonel Kaito and the Lieutenant, but never Rin. She was just a small fry, it would seem. She probably didn't even matter to them.

He watched from the corner of his eye, as Gumi led this 'Rin' to one of the seats near the corner of the café. She was enthusiastic, it would seem, but Rin looked lifeless. Dead. She looked like she had no interest in whatever Gumi was talking about. She was, however, intrigued with the café's design, or so it seemed, because he could see her eyes wandering around the interiors of the café, carefully looking at every nook and cranny of it.

"Excuse me," He heard her say, and it took him a few minutes to realize that she was actually talking to _him_! "Are you the owner of this café?"

"Ah," He replied promptly, turning to look at said cop, and at the same time doing his best to keep a poker face, "I suppose you could say that… though I'm not the full… owner… of this café. I'm merely watching it until its true owner returns from abroad."

"I see." She breathed out, her face completely blank; it was impossible to read her expression, or her thoughts. "It's… very unique. I've never seen a café with a design like this before."

He couldn't tell if she was lying or not—she looked calm; she didn't sound as truthful as she made herself to be. Nonetheless, it would simply be impolite of him to decline such a compliment offered by a fine lady such as that cop.

He chuckled. "I take that as a compliment, then? Why, thank you."

Gumi was watching them from a distance, jealousy blazing within her eyes. She looked as though she would explode any moment… she was trying to control her emotions.

"Would you like tea or coffee, Rin?" Gumi asked, almost adoringly, but Len knew that she was trying to stop them both from conversing any further, "I suggest the tea here; it's really good! Please try it!"

The 'Rin' girl nodded her head affirmatively, letting her cool fingers slide on the smooth surface of the table. There was not a single speck of dust to be found there, much to her amazement; she looked pleased.

_She must be a clean freak_, Len thought.

Len got to work. He gently scooped up some of the tealeaves in the plastic container on the table, and brewed them with hot scalding water in the teapot. His hands were skilled, being careful not to cause any spills; it had always been this way. He was not only good with handling guns, knives, or even _corpses_, but he was also a good tea-brewer.

When he could smell the delicious aroma of the tea wafting through the air, he brought the teapot to one of the clay cups on the table, and poured the tea slowly into it. Teas tasted exceptionally better when consumed in a cup made of clay; that was what most traditional people believed. Chinese people were like that, he knew, and to him, this custom was what that made fresh tea as delicious as they were now.

He brought the tea over to the lady, 'Rin', and gingerly placed it on the table as if he was handling a porcelain doll. Then, he gave a mock-bow out of courtesy, and smiled invitingly at the unknowing lady.

"Tea for you, milady."

"Oh," Rin uttered, her face darkening and Len thought he could see that flash of scarlet on her face for a brief second, "T-thank you. It smells good."

"It doesn't just smell good, Rin. It tastes exceptionally good," Gumi stated, whipping around to face Len with a smile. Her eyes were twitching, however. Not a good sign for Len.

He merely chuckled calmly, unfazed by her reaction.

Len watched as Rin took a careful sip form the cup, and then placed it back on the table. A pleased grin appeared on her lips.

"It's… _good_. It's different. How?"

"It's a secret," Gumi explained, "Only Len is capable of brewing such a heavenly tea. If you want, you can ask him, though I doubt he'll spill the beans."

Kagamine Len stared at the girl; she looked so innocent, so pure. She looked as though she was a lamb, vulnerable to all sorts of dangers… and yet, she looked as though she was merely pretending to be _weak_. He couldn't tell what kind of a person she was, but he knew that beneath that strong exterior, was a weak little girl, trying to protect and defend herself from getting hurt.

She was…

She was so vulnerable… So white, like a rabbit. And yet, he'd wondered how it'd feel like to taint her with _his_ darkness, to taint her with his thoughts, and to manipulate her… It felt so tempting, he was actually contemplating it. He simply could not resist breaking this perfect girl, this _child_.

"Are you a cop?" He asked her all of a suddenly, being sure to keep his face devoid of any emotions. He wanted to test her. He wanted to know if she knew anything, wanted to find out more about _her_.

She looked surprised at the question. Of course, it was expected. Anyone in her position would feel the same way too, especially when a stranger asked that question. "Yes… why?"

"We haven't had a cop patronizing us before," Len lied, "_You_ are the _first_, apparently."

Of course, he wasn't lying about her being the first cop patronizing the café; she really was the first one to have done so! However, he was lying to her about the reason; he wanted to know if she was a cop so that he could toy with her thoughts and mess her up… it was tempting for him to do so. He was very much aware of the fact that it would be despicable for him to do such an immoral thing, but when it came to work, he could do _anything_.

He would not do this to most ladies. He knew they deserved better. But a cop was still a cop to him; they were his arch nemesis.

It was interesting for him to toy with one of them… The thought simply sent surges of excitement down the back of his mind, even if they were wrong, even if they were _sinful_.

"Oh," Rin stated with half-lidded eyes, as if she found it to be something she'd expected, "I see. I guess they are all too busy to make their way here, perhaps."

_They,_ Len silently mused to himself. _She must be referring to her subordinates._

Of course the whole department would be busy. There were loads of cases to be handled, loads of crimes to be fought, and most importantly… there were unsolved cases in the past that had yet to be solved. If they were busy as they were now, then how would they fare when he'd strike this midnight?

"If you don't mind me asking, what huge cases are they working on now?" He questioned, arching his brows, "I've heard that there are a lot of thieves and villains in town as of now... it seems to be rather serious."

"Erm..." Rin hesitated, looking back and forth guiltily as if she was telling him an unspeakable secret. "I'm not sure. I haven't heard of anything like that yet..."

She _was_ lying. The glint in her eyes had betrayed her. It was too obvious; this girl here was not a professional when it came to lying. She just didn't want to tell him anything; top secret information, perhaps?

"Ah... of course, the police are meticulous when it comes to their work, no? I believe they have every reason to hide information from the public, as it seems..."

"A-ah!" Rin blushed, shaking her hands desperately. "No, I mean—"

"Please don't take it to heart. I'm not offended; I was just curious... On a side note, the police must be surrounded by dangers all around them; it'd be wise of a fine lady like you to be more observant when you're walking around at night, in the dark. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-yes, I do that all the time; they wouldn't have a chance to get me."

"Well, you know," Gumi suddenly chirped, out of the blue, with a curious look plastered on her face, "I've been wondering about this for a while ever since you caught that rotten guy from just now… According to my observations of your skills, you must be a high-ranking officer, aren't you, Rin?"

Kagamine Len caught Rin's immediate reaction; she stiffened, her eyes dilating and she fumbled with the buttons of her blouse as if she were unsure, as if she were nervous about something. She gulped, and her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but she closed it shortly thereafter. She was at a loss of what to say.

Len was no idiot. Len was an expert of _everything_. He was able to deduce things from different angles or just by merely observing a person's psychological behavior.

_She's a small fry, _Len confirmed his thoughts in his mind. _I was right. She is useless._

"Well," Rin replied, her voice caught in her throat, "I… Maybe. I don't know."

Len smirked inwardly. _Ah, keeping quiet, aren't we? Looks like she values her pride, after all. Pathetic. Even Gumi is not that indecisive. She would know how to make her own decision even in situations like this, instead of giving some half-assed answer._

A glum look appeared on Gumi's face. She looked like she was offended by what Rin had mindlessly babbled out.

"I won't probe. If that is what you want."

"No!" Len blinked in amusement at Rin's sudden uproar. "That wasn't what I meant. I just don't want to talk about it… Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you—"

"You sure as hell _didn't_."

"I really didn't mean it that way! I was just—"

It seemed like this was getting out of hand; the two of them clearly misunderstood each other's intentions. Len remained silent, slowly watching the scene unfold in front of his eyes. He was thinking whether he should at least stop the situation from worsening, or just turn a blind eye and forget about getting himself into these minor issues when he had a larger one at hand.

_Women_…

Gumi gritted her teeth. "It's alright. I won't take it to heart. I have no rights to do so, anyway."

"I didn't thought it'd come out like that. I usually don't think before I speak—"

"Maybe you should have given me a better answer then. That answer was downright rude! It sounded as if you didn't—"

"Ladies," Len coolly interrupted before this became a heated argument between the two, "Please. Don't allow a simple misunderstanding to create unnecessary trouble; it is not worth it. I believe both of you are in need of something soothing that could calm your nerves and keep your temper in check—would tea do?"

Beside him, an apologetic smile crawled its way up to Gumi's face. She looked remorseful and hurt, as if she had said something she didn't mean at all.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed dramatically, "I didn't mean it."

"It's alright. If it's possible…" Rin trailed off, her eyes darting off to the counter, where the teapot was left to continue brewing, "Could I have another cup?"

Len offered her a smile, one that seemed to be sincere, one that seemed to conceal his true thoughts and his true self from the girls.

"Sure," He replied calmly, the smile still there, "It's on the house."

* * *

><p><em>Location: Residential area <em>  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday<br>Time: 1800_

Kagamine Len was ready to strike.

He would strike once the night was engulfed in total darkness, when the moon was shining at its brightest, and when the stars were twinkling brightly amidst the dark clouds. Of course, his main motive tonight would be to successfully complete the heist for that beloved treasure that his client oh-so-dearly wished for, but there was another thing that he could not bring himself to resist.

Thrill.

Perhaps Kagamine Len was really a nutcase. Perhaps he was an ignorant idiot simply courting for death. Perhaps he was a mentally insane sociopath…

But they weren't important. It was _thrill_ that he sought for, and oh, thrill he shall have.

That explained why he was standing amidst the crowd, cloaked in the darkness, facing the mansion that he was supposed to steal the treasure from; he'd gotten the directions to the grand mansion before he had made his way here, all thanks to the client and his partner-in-crime, Kamui.

He had expected nothing less from the mansion; it was huge, perhaps three times the size of his humble abode, and it radiated an aura of authority, an aura of royalty. Its gates were huge, firmly latched into place, and if that weren't enough, there were two huge German shepherds standing guard behind the gates, bearing their sharp canine fangs as if they were preparing to attack any intruders, should there be any.

The place itself was already screaming for the desire to be robbed. With such a grand presentation, which idiot of a thief wouldn't think that there was something precious they'd try to protect inside? Obviously, anyone in his or her right mind would get inside and steal everything they could find as soon as they got a chance to, because the mansion itself proved that the owner was filthy rich.

The problem was whether those little thieves would be capable of getting their ass inside without getting whipped or chased out by those canines. By the looks of it, security seemed to be tight; Len was willing to bet that security cameras would be hidden all around its pathway…

Len licked his lips. _Thrilling._

Indeed, he was going to do something extremely unexpected, something that most people would deem as being 'foolish' or 'naïve'.

He was going to drop his calling card. He was going to inform the jewel's owner of his plans to snatch that jewel from their hands. He wanted them to take necessary precautions and he wanted them to panic. Most importantly, he wanted them to inform those _damn_ police.

They'd act against him, wouldn't they? They'd all try to catch him, even if it were beyond their abilities! What could they possibly do to him, a master of agility and skills? They simply wouldn't match up against him! They'd lose, yes they would, and Len would be able to savor that moment where they'd have looks of hopelessness on their faces… They'd be disheartened, they'd weep, they'd wallow in self-pity, oh yes they certainly would! That moment would be priceless!

They haven't even managed to catch him all these years! He had been inactive for months, and now, it was finally a time when he'd strike once more… This time, of course, it was just a heist, a simple little job, and a _warm-up_. It couldn't be compared to the number of assassinations he had done in the past… Next time, however, he was going to take up a few assassination jobs just to create chaos within the police themselves.

He glimpsed at the mansion once more, with his card in hand.

It was time. 

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><p><em>(you don't know me at all)<em>

**A/N**: Next chapter is the longest chapter I've written for this story here. I'll go with slightly faster updates for this time round only because I do think people are actually reading this? I guess so.

Next chapter's teaser: Rin is tasked to hunt down a well-known assassin after the police receives the mysterious calling card from the culprit himself. What is he up to, exactly? Will Rin succeed?

Review please, it keeps me going :)


	4. fragments of the past

**A/N**: The number denotes the point of view that the chapter is written in; 000 represents Len's point of view, while 050 represents Rin's. That's just about it; I'm only writing things from the two of their viewpoints.

I AM A BAD, HORRIBLE PERSON. D: I updated this first and neglected TRS. /SHOT

This chapter is dedicated to all reviewers: You guys are my _only_ inspiration right now.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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><p>silent masquerade<br>(#4; fragments of the past - 050)

* * *

><p><em>Brooklyn, New york, USA.<em>

_Location: Colonel's office_  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday <em>  
><em>Time: 19 00<em>

Before Rin had stepped into the Colonel's office, she already knew that trouble was brewing within headquarters itself; Lieutenant Sakine had called her roughly about half an hour after she'd left that café, while she was taking a stroll down the park, and her voice sounded urgent… she even screamed flatly in her ears, demanding for her to get back to headquarters no matter what it took, and to assemble in the Colonel's office with everyone else.

And alas, she was right.

They were all assembled in the Colonel's office, all adorning faces of desperation and trepidation. They looked pallid, their voices were sore, and even the Colonel didn't seem like he was in the mood to crack some of his jokes today, which were famous for being (not) funny. That usually smug, hearty smile was not on his face today; it was instead replaced by a look of weariness and anger, and in short… he looked absolutely appalling to her today.

The Colonel's cropped sapphire hair seemed to be extremely dull today, lack of its usual volume and healthy shine. He was in deep thought, standing near the windows of his office, facing the large city beneath him. A puzzled expression appeared on his face, and he scratched his chin as if he was in deep thought.

It wasn't just him; Lieutenant Sakine looked just as scary, if not, even much more so than him. She was already a harpy from day one, Rin had concluded, and with that dull displeased face constantly being worn on her face, especially after she had consumed that much of a liquor… She'd one day evolve into a dragon. No, it wasn't like those flying type of dragon that you see in movies or in stories. She'd be a unique dragon, a dragon with a breath of destruction that constantly spewed out harsh words, a dragon with looks that'd kill, and a dragon with a… large cleavage?

No… Rin did _not _just think that. It was the hormones, yes. The hormones… Ahh, it was the hormones that were speaking.

Meiko was standing near the Colonel's desk, with her arms folded neatly across her chest. She had the same look as Colonel Kaito had.

Rin gulped. The silence was starting to unnerve her. It had been minutes since she had set foot into this office and they hadn't reported or explained anything to her. Was something big going to happen?

Nevertheless, she had expected them to talk. They'd summoned her! What were they doing, sitting down there, and pretending like she'd never existed? She was a cop, just like them, and surely she'd deserve at least a proper explanation as to why they looked so troubled!

Rin cleared her throat; she had to start speaking if she wanted answers, even if it was going to be a death wish.

"Is… Is something wrong? Why am I called here?"

The Colonel was the first one to speak. He turned around, startling Rin with his masculine and deep voice. He sounded serious… too serious for Rin to handle; she wasn't used to how he was behaving because he usually didn't give a damn about his paperwork and would flee or find legitimate excuses to procrastinate from work whenever possible.

"Investigator," He said, biting his bottom lip, "I… no, _we _have something important and urgent to let you know."

Rin noticed the way the Lieutenant flinched. A look of terror crossed her features. "Colonel! You can't seriously be entrusting _that_ case to this child's hands—"

_That case?_ Now, Rin was curious. Whatever they were talking about involved her and something grave. It made Rin shudder with fear—what exactly were they going to tell her?

"Lieutenant! I have made my decision! This child—_no_, Investigator Rin here has the rights to participate in this case!"

Meiko grimaced. "But Colonel! This _child_… she doesn't know the gravity of the situation! She has failed multiple times in all the cases she has attempted to take on before and this case would _not_ be an exception—"

"Lieutenant Meiko!"

Rin heard a voice calling out for the Lieutenant, and before she knew it, all of them had their eyes on her. It took her a while to actually notice that she was the one who'd opened her big fat lips to call for Meiko, and the worst thing was… she didn't know why.

Maybe it was because of the way Meiko was indirectly insulting her; she couldn't take the insults, however light or true they were. Whatever they were talking about right now seemed to be connected with a case that she was supposed to be a part of, and it seemed as though the Lieutenant was reluctant to let her participate in it. However, she was bent on being part of it; Meiko had given her a chance, hadn't she? She had given her a chance willingly, and Rin _deserved_ to have that chance!

"Please," She urged, wrinkling her forehead, "Allow me to… at least… use that chance you've given me."

Meiko remained silent, her eyes never leaving Rin's. For a while, Rin thought that she was going to snap, and she thought that she was going to get into trouble again like what she'd done the last time. Then Meiko had lowered her gaze to the floor and Rin heaved a sigh of relief, taking this as a sign of her willingness to listen to what Rin had to say for once.

This was… weird. Meiko was actually being compliant and understanding for once. It truly shocked her… but it also meant that she was being extremely serious here… which meant that this issue was not to be joked around with.

Colonel Kaito glanced to and fro at the both of them, but if he was disturbed by their conversation, he did not show it.

"Tonight at twelve, when the moon is at its brightest, and when the darkness sweeps over the entire city," The Colonel explained, a perplexed look on his features, "The 'Steel Crown' will strike. He is planning to steal a rare gem, Rin, and… we need assistance, preferably from all the various departments here. I want you to be part of the operation."

_What_? Rin could not believe what she was hearing. "What… wait, I—"

She was taken aback by this news; what had she done to deserve this obligation? The 'Steel Crown' was a dangerous assassin who was capable of endangering the dear citizens' life and has remained uncaught, untouched and unidentified by the public or the force for a year, and yet… yet he was asking for her assistance in the matter?

"Wait… how do you know if this news is reliable, Colonel? What if it's just a trap set for us?" Of course, this scenario was possible, considering how sudden the situation was. Nobody in his or her right mind would disappear for a few months and then come back with… the intent to steal some lousy jewel! Maybe a thief would do so, but an assassin? It was simply ludicrous!

"No. It won't be one, Rin," He explained once more, "I have confirmed it with my own eyes. The original inhabitants of the target's mansion sent the calling card to me; it is indeed the symbol of the 'Steel Crown'. He is back—he is active once more. We cannot let him off the hook this time!"

Rin moistened her lips. "But I… I am merely a… what can I do?"

"You are a girl with a pure heart, Rin. I believe you will be a valuable asset to our team."

"But I—"

"No. Rin. My decision is final, whether you like it or not. Take this opportunity to prove your worth to the Lieutenant. Show her how capable you can be, Rin… I trust you."

Rin looked up, amazed with what she had just heard. "Y-you… You trust me?"

"Yes. Besides that… isn't there someone you have been searching for, Rin?" Here, Kaito had paused, and he hesitated before adding, "Perhaps the 'Steel Crown' is _that _one guy you have searched in vain for many years."

Rin froze at the thought of being able to finally locate _that_ man after many years. She wasn't sure what he'd look like, but there was something… something he'd have to make her recognize him at an instance. If it that person was really the 'Steel Crown', then… then she'd really have to go this time! She had to locate that person no matter what happened, even if it was at the expense of her life.

She had been in here for so long… All the criminals whom she had interrogated were not the one she was looking for. There was a possibility, a slight chance, however small it might be, that the 'Steel Crown' was _that_ person… It was possible, since she wasn't able to locate _that _person for a long time.

She had sworn to do so, hadn't she?

"Thank you, Colonel." She sighed, feeling a wave of relief wash over her; at least there was someone in here that did not look down on her. She thought everyone hated her with all his or her guts, but she was wrong; the Colonel had proved her otherwise!

The Colonel nodded in understanding. "You are dismissed."

She grinned, and for the first time in her life, she actually felt overjoyed about her occupation. She didn't thought that she would be so lucky, but of course… of course, if she was truly lucky enough to be nominated for this operation, then it also meant that she had to be serious about this job this time round, because she did not want to fail. She was going to accomplish something great this time round, and she was going to _win_. She was going to do it.

She was going to confirm if the 'Steel Crown' was _that_ person…

She stepped out, finally shedding some light on her life this time round.

* * *

><p><em>Location: Residential area <em>  
><em>Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday<br>Time: 23 40_

The moon hung high in the dark and night sky, seemingly to shimmer brilliantly amidst the darkness. Shadows were cast upon a mansion that stood rigidly and firmly on the ground surrounded by luscious green trees and bushes. The night was silent, for the only sounds heard were the uneven and fast breathings of some people standing directly in front of the mansion door.

Rin breathed out steadily, trying to calm her nerves down.

She was ready.

Or so, she hoped.

Her heartbeat was louder than anyone else's; she could hear it herself. Her heart was plummeting rapidly and she could feel her blood gushing through her veins all the way to the back of her mind—it sent an adrenaline rush down her system. Her cheeks were puffed and swollen and her whole lithe frame was shivering and she didn't know why.

She stood, under the moonlight, exposed for all to see. Her head was cocked to one side as she surveyed her surroundings meticulously, leaving no corner unnoticed. She let her eyes trail to every single one of the officers stationed outside with her; they were supposed to guard the entrance, making sure that not a single soul would be allowed access here, or to escape from the mansion itself.

Only the Colonel and the Lieutenant were inside, with a couple of their subordinates. They were to watch the interior of the mansion, of course, and with their supreme reflexes and superior skills, even a tiny little ant would go unnoticed!

Rin removed her little black beret, letting her well-groomed soft blonde hair cascade down her shoulders. She ran a pale and slim finger through those golden strands of hair, softly brushing through it while grabbing her hip with her other hand.

It was terrifying to wait like this. It was as if they were waiting for death to loom near; they didn't know the enemy, but the enemy knew them from inside out!

"What time is it now?" She whispered to one of the people beside her, breaking the silence with her soft and smooth voice.

The one she had spoken to immediately looked up at her and saluted her. "Yes, M'am! It's eleven fifty-five now, M'am!"

Rin frowned, letting both of her arms go limply by her sides. She shook her head briefly, and creased her brows as if something had annoyed her greatly.

She waited. Even if she had been reluctant to wait, she waited. It had been exactly one hour and forty-seven minutes since they had waited here, but there were still no signs of the wretched 'Steel Crown'.

Maybe it was a hoax after all. Maybe it had all just been a terrible joke played on them by some idiotic 'Steel Crown'-wannabe. She couldn't dismiss that possibility, but then again… only they had knowledge about his calling card. Even if there were imposters, they wouldn't have gotten their hands on the calling card…

Even if they did make one, they couldn't have gotten it to be exactly the same as the one the authentic assassin had. Every single detail, every single stroke were exactly the same as the one he had, Kaito had told her.

The blonde haired girl took a glimpse at the night sky again, and sighed with impatience. It should have been past twelve midnight already, and yet the assassin hadn't even made his move to steal anything from the mansion. Perhaps he was late? Or maybe he got lost on the way? Maybe he tripped and fell to his death while he was climbing up the rooftop. It always happened, in television shows…

She let a soft and sad frown caress her lips and decided that there were better things to do other than trying to contemplate the moon or whatever the hell she was doing. She let her gaze fall on the men surrounding her, watching them intensely behind those deep blue eyes. _They look tired, as if they hadn't slept for the whole night._

She felt sorry for those people. She wanted to do something for them, but she didn't know what she could do… All they could do was to wait.

She was about to turn back to talk to the man beside her when one of her men caught her eyes. Said man had his almost all of his face covered by his bangs, and there was almost an eerie glow emitting from this strange man. She couldn't see his face properly since it was dark, but he was _strange_.

She didn't remember seeing him before they departed for the mansion. She didn't recall seeing this… man, anywhere; she knew her people, she knew her colleagues at work. She made the effort to memorize their faces but never in her life could she recall seeing this man before.

Never.

Something rose up her throat, and her instinct was screaming at her to talk to this man. Of course, she could be wrong, but what better than to be sure of it?

"Hey," Rin snapped, pointing at his shadowy figure among the others. "You over there. Please, could you lift up your head?"

She could have sworn she saw his whole body went rigid for a while there. The strange man did not lift up his head or reply to her command. Instead, he continued staring on the ground, and it was almost as if he was trying to pretend he hadn't heard her at all. That only served to confirm Rin's suspicion of him.

The blonde haired girl took a few steps forward, slowly making her way towards him, and stopped to glare at him after she was about a few meters away from him.

He didn't even turn to look at her.

_Yes, he is definitely avoiding me,_ she silently mused to herself.

She thinned her lips and watched him warily. "Hey, I told you to—"

Then, there was a loud explosion in the mansion, and Rin subconsciously let out a loud gasp, immediately turning to look at the source. The lights had flickered off and there was a sharp, shrill scream that penetrated the silence in the area, and it was so loud, Rin could hear it even if she was outside.

_The owner, _Rin thought. Only the shrewd and rude old hag possessed such an annoying high-pitched voice. Had something happened to her? Did _he_ attack her?

The two German shepherds tied to one of the lampposts near the mansion started growling, baring their sharp, white vampire-like fangs. They looked ferocious, and Rin could only assume that it was part of their natural instincts. Even they could sense the arrival of that crook!

So he was here _now_. He had found his way inside!

There was no time for any hesitation; time was of the essence. They had to get him now, or never.

The rest of the team hurriedly rushed inside the mansion, with their pistols in hand. She didn't have to tell them what to do because they automatically assumed that someone was in danger; with a scream like that, who wouldn't come to that conclusion?

Rin followed swiftly behind, making sure that every single one of them managed to get inside before she did; she didn't want to see anyone left behind, only to be quickly assassinated by the culprit.

Then she saw _him_.

It was that man from before—that suspicious man with that eerie glow around him.

She stopped, her eyes widening as she inspected him closely—he wasn't moving, oh yes, he clearly wasn't. He didn't even have the intention to move in like the rest of the team did. He was just _there_, standing idly, as if he was waiting for something to happen, and Rin reckoned he must've caught her staring at him intensively, because he had immediately made a dash for the backyard.

He was fast. He didn't even seem to be panting, or exerting any of his strength; he just sprinted away from her, and Rin was momentarily stunned there. She was at a complete loss of what to do; the people had all headed inside the mansion and she was the only _idiot_ who'd decided to stay here, all alone, vulnerable and open to all attacks.

Hastily, she followed behind, finding it hard to catch up with him; he dove into the dark wispy shadows and it was difficult to locate him in this darkness. She couldn't see him.

The backyard was large. It was almost as large as her whole house. Still, the field was empty, devoid of anything that resembled a human; there was quite nothing that had a frame of a human's and there was nothing that seemed like a favorable place for him to hide in—crates, buckets, a pond and a few greenery; what could he possibly hide in?

She approached one of the crates with caution, being careful not to make any noise. Her breath was raspy and it came out in irregular gasps; she was _afraid_.

When she did peek behind the wooden crate, however, she was disappointed to find nobody there.

Where had he gone?

Where _could_ he go?

He was not here!

But she'd saw him proceed this way, didn't he? She did!

She breathed out slowly. She had to calm down; she was too panicky to think rationally. She had to calm herself down and think; where would he have decided to hide in? Where would _she_ hide in, if she were a criminal on the loose? Which place would be the most suitable place for her to hide in? Which place would be the most unsuspecting place, the most probable place for a criminal to hide in?

She closed her eyes, dimming her sense. All this time, she'd been thinking about distinctive objects that he'd hide in… why was she assuming that? What if he had decided to hide in a placed that she'd never be bothered to think of?

"The trees!" She exclaimed, hearing a twig snap into two as she did so.

She looked, and she noticed a dark, shadowy figure jumping down from one of the trees near the fences. She still could not see him from this angle, neither could she make his features out from the way he had carefully hidden his face from view.

She watched helplessly as he made his way away from her. The way he had climbed over the fences was with such grace and flexibility; Rin could not help but be amazed by his skills.

And there, he had gone. He had wandered off to the shadows, free and unnoticed by any of them.

She could not help but let out an annoyed growl in frustration.

She'd let him escape under her nose.

* * *

><p><em>Location: Colonel's office <em>  
><em>Date: 12 February 20XX, Thursday<br>Time: 02 10_

Rin stood in the center of the room, feeling uneasy at the tenseness of the atmosphere. Her stomach felt like it was in knots, and her sight was slightly hazed and she felt like she was dreaming, like every single one of the people standing in front of her did not exist in her world. Her mind was constantly thinking about the events that transpired during the operation just now…

It had been a failure.

It had been _her_ failure.

It was her fault. She had the stupidity to let him escape right in front of her very eyes when she could actually have caught up with him and threw him behind bars! Why hadn't she tried to run faster? Perhaps if she did, then things would have changed; they would be rejoicing in this room instead of frowning and she wouldn't be this… this devastated.

And she was supposed to confirm _his_ identity, wasn't she? She was supposed to check! Now, what had she done?

Absolutely _nothing_!

She felt someone clasp her shoulder, throwing her back to reality.

"Don't blame yourself for it; you did your very best. You didn't mean to let him go," The Colonel said from behind that smile of his, and Rin suspected that it was all a façade to make her feel somewhat better.

She didn't.

"It was all a trap; we all fell for his decoy. You were the only one who managed to notice something amiss… Rin, you—"

She didn't want to stand there, listening to him preaching about how she should feel better about herself, or to listen him give some speech that was meant to boost her morale, because deep down in her heart she knew that it was _never_ going to work.

As much as she thought he was right (the rest of the people did fall for that trap; they'd hurry inside as soon as that auntie had screamed), she could not help but start blaming herself for her failure to safely bring the 'Steel Crown' into justice. She was the one who'd encountered him and he'd escaped while she was standing right there, in front of his very eyes!

This was absurd. She was going to be a laughing stock to everyone.

It just made her feel worse. She didn't feel as heroic as the Colonel made her out to be.

And just to make things worse for Rin, Meiko had to open her accursed mouth; something that Rin thought should be sewn by a seamstress.

"I beg to differ with the Colonel; if you had at least tried to—"

"—_Lieutenant_!"

"What? I am just speaking the truth—"

"—You're not making things any better!"

Rin clenched her fists until she was sure that her long nails would leave crescent-shaped marks on her smooth palm later on. Her blood was boiling—she was going to explode any second… or rather, she was near to breaking down right now. If she had continued staying here, there were chances of her losing her control over her emotions in front of them and they were the last two people she'd want to show her weakness to.

She did the best thing she could do—she left the room with a sullen look on her face, slamming the door shut brutally.

Meiko stared at Kaito with a confused expression, her eyes hazy with what seemed like doubt. She strode to where Kaito was standing at, and folded her arms across her chest, balancing her weight on one foot while leaning against the walls beside the windows.

"Why? Why were you willing to take that gamble, Colonel? You knew very well that that child was not capable enough to be part of this operation!"

"No," Kaito merely said, his voice barely audible, "But that child… She deserves to be there, Meiko. She _needs_ to be there."

Meiko looked puzzled. "What… what on earth are you talking about?"

"Meiko. Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell… what?"

"That child," He stated bluntly, not moving an inch, "The reason why she'd become part of us. The reason why she'd refused to quit, even after she'd made countless of blunders. _Her_ reason."

"You know something I don't."

"Yes. I do."

Kaito placed his calloused palms on the windowsill, staring at the darkness that enveloped the dark skies outside.

"Meiko... I need to talk to you about that child."

* * *

><p><em>(to be continued)<em>

**A/N**: Sorry. Introductory chapter again x.x I had to make it clear that Rin had a reason to be tracking down these criminals... Next chapter _will_ be fun (and a break from drama, _drama_!), I assure you. Well, in any case, a teaser would be nice so here it is:

.

Luckily for her, her clothes were still intact. They had not done anything to her yet… but they were about to do so.

.

.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

.

.

"What are you guys doing to _her_?"

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Hah! Good luck, guys. I'm evil and I feed on reviews so I'm having fun teasing you guys here! Now, I'll go back to writing my next little one-shot... (Psst. I became addicted to writing one-shots after I wrote **_Wordplay_**. Read that yet? No? Go read it! /shameless selfplug)

**Review**, please...? With cheese and cherry and chocolate on top of the coconut tree?

**Side note**: I forgot to mention... I'm going to dedicated a one-shot to a few of my fellow loyal reviewers... I'll contact you guys once it is done and up ;)


	5. sink with your glory, girl

**A/N**: The number denotes the point of view that the chapter is written in; 000 represents Len's point of view, while 050 represents Rin's. That's just about it; I'm only writing things from the two of their viewpoints.

Yay! I can now view my reviews and I'm so happy so I'm gonna start updating like nosdfjpociaaw; again! So I'll start with SM, then I'll update TRS... and I am aware that I did ask which one readers would like to see updated... you know what, _screw_ the wait, I'm like, gonna update everything by later on or tomorrow. LOL.

-sobs- I'm gonna whack my head with a baseball bat.

.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine**. (_Not_ yours, either)**

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* * *

><p>silent masquerade<br>(#5; Sink with your glory, girl - 000)

* * *

><p><em>Brooklyn, New york, USA.<em>

_Location: Maple café_  
><em>Date: 12 February 20XX, Thursday<em>  
><em>Time: 08 00<em>

Len strode out of the changing room with a haversack in his right hand, grinning sinisterly. He reached out and used his left hand to gather some of his blond strands of hair before tying his hair into a ponytail with the band encircled around his left wrist.

He had changed out of that stinking cop's uniform within a few minutes after he had passed that jewel to Gakupo. He was now gloriously clad in a shirt that most butlers wear, and long black pants. This was very convenient for him, since he figured he would look less suspicious in this outfit as compared to that outfit.

Not that he had cared.

Speaking of which…

It had been an easy victory for _him_.

The cops were stupid enough to let their guards down. They hadn't been paying attention, lost in their own worlds and gazing up the skies like they had been dreaming. They didn't believe his calling card, didn't even believe that he existed in the first place, and just when they were about to give up, he had appeared and gone straight for the kill in the mansion.

It took only about a few minutes for him to replace that precious jewel of theirs with an obvious _fake_, and the cops and its owner were stupid enough to provide him with that opportunity to do so; they were not concentrating, looking as though they had given up…

When the lady owner found out about her missing jewel, she'd screamed. Of course, by then, it had all been a little too late; he'd already made his way out.

It was enjoyable. The thrill he felt back then was very intense. He hadn't been in action for months, and this was the first time he'd reappeared, but it was also one of his most memorable job to date; he could still vividly recall the looks on the cops' faces, all looking so puzzled, so confused… it was absolutely _thrilling_.

They were probably panicking right now. Scrambling on their feet, trying to figure a way out, trying to figure who the culprit was and how he had _managed _to get in there despite the huge horde of people stationed right outside the mansion.

As much as he'd love to continue with his job, he had another job to carry on doing in the morning. He sighed. Len didn't like working in the café even if he had skills that could easily outmatch a professional chef's… he just didn't like the idea of sitting around and doing absolutely _nothing_.

He glanced around, trying to spot Gumi in the café, but she wasn't there again.

Where had she gone? She had always been dedicated to her work, but these few days had somehow been the turning point for her… maybe it had something to do with what he had done to her for the past few days.

Len heaved a deep sigh and was about to take a seat on one of those empty chairs in the café when a familiar silhouette of a certain blonde appeared in the corner of his eyes.

She was staggering, and she looked as though she hadn't had as much as a wink last night; she looked like a zombie. Her face was a little flushed, and her eyes were puffy and pink. If she didn't used to have eye bags before, she sure as heck had them now… in fact, she looked like she had been taking drugs, and one might have easily mistaken her for an addict.

_Oh. _Realization dawned on Len. _She was the girl who'd almost had me… and the girl who came in for a tea._

She pushed the glass door open with the force of her body weight, and limped all the way to one of the vacant seats. She didn't even acknowledge Len when she'd stepped in—she looked like she had been _possessed_. Her eyes were clouded and her attire looked atrocious; she wasn't even properly cleaned up before she had gone outside! Really, what had she been thinking?

Rin slumped her whole body down on the table, and covered her eyes with her hands as if she was trying to avoid the world and all of its unfairness. Len was mildly amused by this—did he affect her more than he thought he had?

"Tea, please…" Rin said, trailing off. She didn't even bother to look up at him when she had made the order.

Nonetheless, an order was still an order. Len immediately got to work, bringing the heated teapot to one of those specially designed teacups, and filling it to the brim, being careful enough not to let it spill. The color of the tea wasn't the same as usual; it was closer to a light bronze this time round… and he knew what that meant. They were running out of tealeaves, so the tea they were going to brew would be diluted and obviously not quite up-to-standard.

He didn't think the blonde would bother about something like that for the moment, though… she obviously wasn't quite herself.

He brought it personally to the girl, and placed it gently on the table. She snapped her head up and hastily brought it to her lips, enjoying the sensation of warmth spreading in her mouth.

Len decided to probe; there had to be something else that had caused her to be like that. She… she couldn't have been this depressed for no apparent reason.

"If you don't mind me asking," He started, watching as Rin met his gaze, "What might have caused you to be this depressed?"

"I'm not depressed." Rin started fiddling with the hem of her uniform. Len could easily recognize this behavior as an act of nervousness; she was _lying_, and because her body wasn't used to her lying to strangers, it decided to betray her. "I'm just… I'm just tired. Sorry… I don't particularly feel the best right now."

Len nodded his head in understanding, pretending to play along with her game of lies. "I feel you. It's extremely tedious to be working like _that_… it's like all of your energy gets drained out of your soul, and you can't see straight because you can't _think_ straight, and when you can't think straight, your emotions take the blow."

"But…" Len continued, a smile creeping up onto his lips. "You're a lady, Miss Rin. You should learn how to take care of yourself better; being like this isn't going to help your condition."

"I know, but I can't help it; I'm a _cop_. I can't think about myself… I have no time to do so. If anything, I have to think about how to help those people out there in need. _They_ _need _me much more than _I_ _need _myself."

"Then why do you choose to become a cop?" Len questioned, watching as her whole petite frame became rigid.

He must have hit a nerve. Bad move.

She didn't reply to his question. She took a sip of the warm tea, and let the taste of the tea linger in her mouth for a moment or two before staring into blank space as if she was dreaming. Anyone would think that she was fine, but Len was not 'anyone', and hence he could tell by that expression on her face that Rin was bothered and disturbed by something.

"I apologize." Len gave a mock-bow, something he'd always do if he had offended someone. "I should not have probed into things—please, forgive me."

"I-it's alright… I'm not offended, sorry; I was just thinking, is all."

"Ahh… but young lady, when you drink tea, you must clear your mind and free them of any thoughts. That is the best way to enjoy tea… and it is also the best way to keep yourself stress-free." Here, Len paused. "Then eventually, you'll find that life would get better than it already is."

"But I can't." Rin's expression here looked pained… she looked _hurt_. "I… I really can't. I tried to, on many occasions, but I can't do it. I just can't forget about everything… not when criminals are always on the loose, waiting for the right time to strike. The worst thing is when you know about them and you find yourself helpless because you _can't_ do a single thing to stop them from doing whatever they want to do."

Oh? So that had been the source of her troubles. She was just depressed because she had been a failure amongst all of her colleagues, then, and he had probably contributed to her troubles because she had seen him getting away scot-free when he had completely the heist. Well, she couldn't blame herself, could she? He was just too skillful, mind you.

With one swift motion, Rin downed the contents of the cup.

"Then you need to get _better_. It's no use thinking about it constantly when you aren't going to do something about it; forgive my bluntness, but I'd like to think it as a motivation for you."

"But I did try… I really did, and… and I always, _always_ mess up at the last moment—"

"Then it's not your fault—why should you be upset?" Len took the empty cup in his hands, and made his way to the basin. He could feel Rin's gaze at his back even though he wasn't facing her. "You know you _have_ tried your best, and you know that you have the heart to do it, so why are you displeased with yourself? You should be proud of it… people nowadays don't even think about trying before they'd start complaining about how life is _always _unfair to them."

Rin didn't utter a single sound, so Len thought that he must've gotten his words through her. He didn't exactly know why he was consoling her, but he was just doing it because he really, really didn't like women who'd always spend their time wallowing in self-pity, or the like. If anything, it annoyed him. It reminded him of those wretched 'emo' women who didn't appreciate their body and would start slashing their wrists when they felt like it.

They deserved better.

He heard the rustling of fabric behind him as he opened the tap to wash the cup, followed by the sound of the chair being pushed back.

"T-thank you. I feel better now, after talking to you… and I don't even know you that well…"

Well, that was true. She didn't know her that well, but he _knew_ her, even if a little. It was ironic. She knew him, actually, but not the real him she'd thought she'd know.

"I'll be leaving now."

He shut the tap and turned to face her before she left. "You're not going to stay for a little while longer?"

"N-no. I think it's best if I leave right now, actually; I still have a job to do."

Then, she made her way—clumsily—to the entrance of the café, and attempted to push the door open, but failed horribly at it; her limbs were wobbly and she didn't have the energy to move at all.

Len arched a brow. She was going to work in that state? _How_?

"You sure you can move?"

She struggled with it for a while before she had managed to get the door open, and turned around to flash him a friendly smile. "Yes… Thank you. I'll drop by again, if I have the time."

The way she walked outside was as if she was _crawling_ on the ground. Her movements were jerky and uncontrolled… it looked as though she might slip any moment from now. She didn't seem eligible for work; really, was that how cops were supposed to be, all the time? It was crazy… Len was glad that he wasn't one of them because it'd definitely drive him _mad_.

When she'd left his sight, Len caught sight of three indecently dressed men trailing sneakily behind her. They were ogling at her with this disgusting, perverted look… Len was sure Rin was being targeted at.

He suddenly had a horrible gut feeling about things; she might have been a cop, but… but what would she do if those men attacked her and assaulted her? She could easily thrash them and get them to surrender, yes, but that was only_ if_ she was in the best state of health… and she wasn't. Not that he knew of, anyway.

She would not be able to defend herself.

He felt himself conflicted with his thoughts; part of him—the _dark_ side of him—wanted her to suffer because she was a cop and he did not care about cops, but the other part of him wanted to help her because it was just the right thing to do… and besides, he did not have any grudges with her. It was just wrong and downright despicable to be taking advantage of a lady who was so vulnerable she could not even protect herself from threats.

He would never, ever do that. Even if he wanted to assassinate a creep, or steal a thing or two from his victim, he'd make sure that they were actually conscious. He'd beat them fair and square.

Without a second thought, he rushed outside of the café, turning around to make sure that his door was firmly locked; he did not want any thieves to sneak in in his absence… Gumi had an extra duplicate of the key, so if she returned, she could probably open the café and get it back running into business.

He then darted into the streets and followed the path that Rin had taken, bringing himself into a deep and dark alleyway.

His eyes scanned through the various objects strewn on the floor; liquids were oozing out of the barrels. The familiar heavy scent of liquor wafted through the air, but there was also a strange, musky odor that stunk to high heavens lingering in the atmosphere. It smelled like there was a corpse here, and a few maggots to boot.

There was a few giggling in the air, and then Len turned to look behind one of the crates to see that few bunch of men surrounding Rin, who appeared to be unconscious. She was leaning against the wall in a sleeping position with her head lying against the crate, and the despicable and horrendous men had their filthy hands roaming around her skin as if she was a piece of meat.

Luckily for her, he had came in the nick of time, so her clothes were still intact. They had not done anything to her yet… but they were about to do so.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

"What are you guys doing to _her_?"

They had stopped abruptly, whipping their heads up to shoot the intruder a glare. True enough, they had faces of perverts; their eyes were blood-shot and their faces were covered in multiple pimples… their clothes were even torn and tattered. Len could deduce from their appearances that they were simply homeless vagrants roaming on the streets and hence, they lacked any morals a human should have.

"Hey, boss… Looks like we've been caught; what should we do?" One of them—the skinnier one—asked the bald one beside him.

"Get rid of him," He ordered.

Then the skinnier dude approached him with a maniacal grin on his lips, unaware of the fact that Len was, unfortunately for him, an _assassin_. He lunged towards him while the other two men at the back struggled to pry Rin's hands away from her clothes.

Len was able to easily dodge from the man's punches and hits. He was an amateur fighter because he didn't even aim before he had attempted to jab someone on the face… which gave Len plenty of opportunities for a counter-attack; he had grabbed his arm in a bruising grip before that man was able to blink, and slammed him brutally at the bunches of barrels placed near the wall.

The other two men had stopped their assaults and had stood up to crack their knuckles threateningly at Len.

"So you want to pick up a fight with us, huh?"

"Do you know who you're dealing with, kid?"

He didn't reply to all of their nonsensical threats; _they_ were the ones who didn't know their places.

The bald guy was the first one to charge forward, and Len realized that he was actually armed with a _knife. _He attempted to slice him or, at least, do some damages to him, but Len was too fast for him to do so. Instead, he ended up blindly assaulting the air, going on a rampage like a madman.

He waited for an opening… he waited until the man was out of breath before he took the chance to strike; he kicked the knife out of his hands and watched as the knife flew up into the air and landed down into his own hands. Then, he grabbed the man from behind and pointed the sharp edge of the knife onto his neck, watching as the man gave out a loud yelp… and he hadn't even done anything to him yet.

_Pathetic_.

"Get lost. I don't want to see you near her… Is that clear?"

The bald guy nodded desperately, clinging onto his dear life.

Len observed the two guys at the back; they weren't doing anything, but they could be plotting something…

"Tell them to leave and I'll let you go. Or else, you die."

Len could have killed him right now and then instead of giving them a chance to leave, but he couldn't do that… not when that cop was actually in front of his eyes. She could very well be conscious of her surroundings, and he did not want to take that risk. It was not worth it.

"We didn't do anything to your girlfriend!"

"Let him go—don't hurt him—"

"What are you waiting for?" Len hissed angrily, watching as the two men behind froze in terror. "I said _leave_ if you don't want him to die!"

They scrambled on their feet and hastily took off just like the cowards they were. The bald man struggled in Len's grip, urging him to let go of him, and when he finally did so, the bald man took off faster than the two had, not once turning back to look at him.

Len dropped the knife onto the floor and hurried to Rin's side.

Fortunately, there were no wounds inflicted on her body. She looked fine (she looked like how she had been just now) and untouched by those brutes.

"Rin?" He whispered, shaking her arms when she didn't respond, "_Rin_?"

She did not respond. He brought his fingers to her wrist, feeling for her pulse… it was there. _Good_. She was still alive. So the only reason why she would not respond was simply because…

"Zzzz…."

… She was asleep.

Len frowned… what type of a careless woman _was _she? If that was how she worked as a cop, then he was starting to understand why she had been so unsuccessful in her job all these years.

She didn't even know how to take care of herself properly… how was she supposed to take care of the citizens?

He groaned, visibly irritated—now what was he supposed to do with _her_? He couldn't just ignore her. That would get her into more trouble… and he didn't know where to take her; should he bring her back into the café? How was he supposed to place a woman who was fast asleep there? Wouldn't it drive away all of his customers? And… What would Gumi think when she came back?

He rolled his eyes.

There was only one solution that he could think of.

To bring her back to his house.

* * *

><p><em>Location: Len's apartment<em>  
><em>Date: 12 February 20XX, Thursday<em>  
><em>Time: 12 00<em>

Len winced as he gently brought her to his room, and placed her gingerly on his bed; she _was_ heavy even if she didn't look like she weigh much, and carrying on his back was a pain in the ass as much as he'd like to deny it.

His room was properly organized and well-tidied up; he did not leave thrashes or pieces of paper flying around his desk or workplace because he hated them, and he had even bothered to sweep the floor when he had the time to do so. He didn't like being messy because he thought it would be a turn-off and it would be downright _rude_ if someone were to come into a house that looked like garbage.

He ran his fingers down his tresses, and sighed. The blonde was still fast asleep in his bed… with her shoes on.

He walked towards her feet and tucked her shoes off them, leaving her socks there.

He wanted to remove her socks as well, but he was afraid she'd start complaining about how he'd touched her when she was unconscious, so he decided against it.

Len was about to leave the room when his cell phone vibrated, and with an annoyed growl, he picked it up.

"Kagamine Len of Maple—"

"_Len!" _Len frowned. Gakupo. _"Could… could you come over?"_

He thinned his lips. "Why? What for?"

"_We have another job to do; I need to brief you on the exact details of our next job." _Then, there was a pause._ "It's… not a minor job. It's something big, Len. You… won't like it."_

He turned to glance at the sleeping figure on the bed. "Now?"

"_Yes. Now, Len. Right this instant. I want you here—no, you _need_ to be here."_

"But it's not very convenient for me right now. I can't get away from where I am now; I have a guest here—"

"_What?" _An irritated growl could be heard on the other side of the phone._ "You've gotta be kidding me… Aren't you supposed to be at work?"_

"Long story, I'll tell you next time. Point is, I can't—"

"_Get here. Now. Len; I don't care who it is or what it is. I need you here. Just leave that guest there… It'll only be a short briefing but it's going to be a tough job and you need to be here to_—_"_

"—Alright." Len sighed. "I'll do it… now."

Then he hung up the call, staring at the unmoving figure on his bed.

It didn't look like she was going to be awake anytime soon… she didn't even move when he had brought her here.

He would be back before she'd had a chance to wake up, anyway.

Sometimes he really hated his job.

_Really_.

* * *

><p>(to be continued)<p>

A/N: I'm on an updating spree. Yippee.

A teaser is in order for next chapter so here it is.

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The brunette only watched as Rin broke into sobs, her whole frame trembling with memories of something that she didn't want to remember.

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I'M CRAZZZYYYY AND I FEED ON REVIEWS. PLEASE, **_REVIEW_**? Let me know how it is going so far!


	6. Prosecutor Reia Lynn

**A/N: **I originally wanted to wait for a few more reviews before I updated the story... D: But holding the fic hostage is a baaaad idea and it usually backfires, so no! I'm not doing that! That's torturous and unfair to people who actually reads and reviews this fic. Instead, I'm going to update as and when I like (and as and when I complete the next chapter)~

I'm liking the sound of this fic more and more with each chapter.Heh heh. Sorry—I'm insane.

The number denotes the point of view that the chapter is written in; 000 represents Len's point of view, while 050 represents Rin's. That's just about it; I'm only writing things from the two of their viewpoints.

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**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

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><p>Silent Masquerade<p>

(#6; Prosecutor Reia Lynn - 050)

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><p>.<p>

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_Brooklyn, New york, USA._

_Location: Len's apartment_  
><em>Date: 12 February 20XX, Thursday<em>  
><em>Time: 14 00<em>

Kagamine Rin stretched her arms wide in the air and gave a short and loud yawn, forcing herself to be sitting upright on the bed. She leaned against the bedpost behind her while letting her cat-like eyes examine the foreign surroundings warily.

The room was richly furnished, complete with a massage chair that was placed on the edge of the room, and a large mirror with an expensive gold frame that sat proudly on the wall opposite of the bed. There were also various expensive colognes that adorned the surface of the desk—Gucci, Burberry, and Ralph Lauren—and if that had not been attention-seeking enough, the curtains in the room were smooth and shiny, complete with ancient-looking patterns and shapes that were woven from genuine silk.

This room was also litter-free. The paperwork were stacked neatly in an isolated corner of the huge desk that was positioned beside the mirror, and other than that, that had been no visible signs of thrash anywhere.

Rin decided to conclude that whomever who lived here had to be freaking loaded with cash, or was a neat freak.

Why had she ended up here, anyway? She couldn't remember anything… The least she could actually remember was that she had been walking down from a route—no, _somewhere_—and that she had been heading to her workplace. Still, that did not explain why she was lying down _here_, in somebody else's bed.

Had that person actually knocked her out and took advantage of her while she had been asleep?

Rin gasped, considering this to be a plausible scenario, and immediately leapt out of bed. She glanced at her own frame—no, her clothes were still intact and her body was just the way it had been just now... The only thing that was different was the fact that someone had the courtesy of actually removing her shoes for her when she had been out cold.

No. She hadn't done anything indecent.

With a sigh, she walked away from the bed and made her way towards the huge mirror. She gazed at her own reflection for a few minutes and almost cried in shock; her eyes were drooping and her face looked haggard. Her blonde strands of hair didn't look so delicate anymore; it looked greasy and it gave her the impression that she had not combed her hair for weeks… it was like a haystack.

"Oh no!" She whined to herself, covering her face with her hands; she did not want to look at her own reflect in the mirror. It was absolutely disgusting… she didn't think that it would be her in the mirror!

"Perhaps the owner here has a comb?" She mused to herself, looking around the items arranged neatly on the desk… there was no comb.

Then she noticed that there were a few other compartments under the desk, and she made herself pull one of these compartments open. The first layer had consisted of nothing but papers with sketches of a structure of a gun. She knew it was a gun, because she had worked on a blueprint of something like that before when she was still a newcomer. The sketches were well-drawn and elaborated, with markings and indications on every single part of the guns that described how it was operated and what the parts did.

"Whoever drew this must be a gunman," She muttered to herself and gingerly closed the compartment.

She opened the next layer. It was empty; there was nothing there—no comb, no nothing.

Then she stopped to open the last compartment, and grinned when she saw the vague outline of a teethed comb hidden beneath one of the unsealed brown envelops in the space. With nimble and slender fingers, she gracefully picked the comb up, and as she did, something else that was large and round in size and shape rolled out of the envelope. It freaked her out; there was a strange, noisy sound that it made when it collided with the walls of the compartment, and she feared that it had been a pest lurking in the darkness.

Thankfully, it wasn't. When she peeked once more at the item, she noticed that it had just been a bottle of pills.

She took a good, long glance at it before picking it up and inspecting it. Upon closer examination, she realized that there was a label on it that stated that the pills were '_Fluoxetine'_… and while Rin was an investigator, she knew what these pills were used for because she had been fascinated with medical science for a short while before she came into this occupation.

They were anti-depressants, or pills that treated bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders or panic disorders. These pills had a risk if it had been consumed on a long-term basis; they could actually invoke suicidal thoughts in a person's mind. Whoever lived here must be depressed with their life, or had psychological issues to deal with occasionally. They required help.

"What are you doing?"

Upon hearing a voice in the room, Rin chided herself for having high curiosity levels. The owner had returned, and whoever it was, he or she would not be happy about what she had done.

Well, there was no going back.

She turned around with the bottle of pills in her hand, and realized that the one standing at the entrance of the room was none other that Len, the owner of that Maple café.

He did not look as irritated or as discontented as she thought he would look. Instead, he had his arms folded, staring at her with a look of inquisition while leaning on the door.

"I… Well, I—" Rin paused. She needed to think of an explanation… a reasonable explanation. She couldn't just say that she was curious about it, could she?

Len stared at her, awaiting her reply. "Well?"

"This thing… It fell out while I was looking for a comb." Well, Rin wasn't exactly lying to him, per se. It had been the truth… just that she left out the part of her being curious.

Now, she was still curious about the pills. If Len was the owner of the place, then it insinuated that he had been the one taking those pills… and that wasn't the most curious part, see. She wanted to know _why_ he was taking those pills. He looked like a normal person to her in every way.

His face fell. "… Oh. Forgive me, I thought you were intentionally probing—"

"—no, no, please." Rin clasped her hands together, the bottle still in her palms. "I should be the one to apologize. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have opened your drawers without your permission. I'd thought it'd be a good idea seeing that my hair is all messed up… but apparently, I think it isn't."

Len chuckled. "Apologies accepted. Now, are you going to put it back or do you like those _that_ much to carry it around with you everywhere you go?"

"Ahh! Oh, yes, that's right. I forgot!" She giggled nervously, dumping the bottle of pills unceremoniously into the space in the compartment. She didn't want to waste her time opening the envelope and then throwing it in again; it _had_ fell out accidentally, so she wasn't supposed to know where it had been before it had rolled out of its location.

"… They're anti-depressants, aren't they?" She asked humbly, whipping around to face Len. She made sure to keep that smile on her face lest he had the idea that she was just being nosy. Well, technically, she _was_ being nosy because it was indeed her intention to find out why he needed those pills, but she also wanted to help him or to suggest a good councilor or psychologist to him if he had any serious issues.

He arched a brow, staring at her strangely. "Why… yes. How would you know that?"

"I've read about it before. But…" Rin trailed off.

"Why would you need those pills?" She pursed her lips, not sure if she should continue bombarding him with questions. "You… look fine to me. Are you under medication?"

Len merely shrugged. "Well, how are you feeling right now? Better already?"

Now, Len was avoiding the topic and trying to avert her attention to something else. She knew that it wasn't her position to probe, but she _wanted_ to know, and if he didn't want to answer her, then she wouldn't be able to find out anything. Maybe it would be better off for her to forget about it… this must be an extremely sensitive topic to him.

Rin nodded. "Yes. I… Did you bring me here?"

"Mm. You were out cold… and I tried calling you several times but you weren't responding. I could only think of bringing you here, seeing that the café is probably not an ideal place for someone who'd been slogging out at work to rest or have a wink."

"I had somewhat thought you'd say that…" Rin took the comb and started straightening her tangled strands of hair with it. "What happened? I can't remember anything."

There was a glint of amusement in Len's eyes. "Nothing happened. You were tired, is all. I suggest you to try get some more sleep before you collapse again; I won't be there to help you every time you do that, and I don't think you'd want to end up in some stranger's room. It's not the kind of situation you'd want to be in, trust me."

Somehow, Rin felt that he had been hiding something from her, but she didn't ask. "Oh… you're right. I'll get to sleep as soon as I reach home… but first, I really, _really _have to get to work right now—the higher-ups are going to be fuming mad because I haven't reported punctually for work."

"Why don't you call them and apply for leave? It'd do you good… you need to refresh your mind a little and learn to _relax_."

Rin shook her head. "It's alright—I'll be fine. T-Thank you. I'll be going now."

He sighed, a slightly disappointed look appearing on his handsome and well-defined features. "All right, if you say so… You're a lady—please do remember that. You _need_ to be pampered; don't get affected too much by your work, no matter how busy you are. Indulge in life's simple pleasures once in a while—I'm not kidding, it _really_ does you good."

Rin just smiled as an act of courtesy, even if she didn't agree with his thoughts.

"Okay, I'll do that I guess."

"No, don't guess. Do it for yourself and do it for the people around you—in fact, if you have the time, why don't you pop by the café more often? It'd be good to have guests, and tea really does soothe the mind and soul."

"Mm, I guess you're right... _Your_ tea, you mean?" Rin teased.

"Ah, but of course, _dear_." Rin felt her hair stand when she heard him use that... that word. It was something that she didn't expect a stranger (Well, he wasn't really a stranger, but she barely knew him yet) to be using. "Nobody can prepare better tea than yours truly here."

Well, relaxing was a simple matter, but working... well, that was another entirely different matter that Rin did not want to think about.

She sighed.

Reality was a cruel and harsh thing.

* * *

><p><em>Location: Lieutenant's office<em>  
><em>Date: 12 February 20XX, Thursday<em>  
><em>Time: 15 47<em>

Kagamine Rin strode to the Lieutenant's office, taking large and quick strides. Some of the cadets and subordinates of the brunette in the office were gawking at her like she had just risen from bed (well she _did_… but she wasn't going to admit it to them). They threw her looks of disgust and pity, and she knew what they had been insinuating—they were sympathizing with her because of her failure in that freaking case that involved a game of catch-and-hide with the infamous 'Steel Crown'.

She gently knocked on the door when she had reached the office, and made her way inside when she heard an affirmative answer from the other side of the door.

Meiko was sitting there with a slightly displeased look on her face. She had looked just as worn out as Rin had, and perhaps a tad worse—Meiko, unlike Rin, was a workaholic to the max; she could continue working for months or years and not have the luxury of going out to shop or rendezvous with her friends and she'd _still_ be happy about it. She was quite the odd one, Rin could say.

"I apologize, Lieutenant—"

"—If it's about being late for work," Meiko added in for her, "Then you're excused. I don't need a reason from you."

Rin stared at her, dumbfounded with worry. Was she going to request for Rin to tender her resignation? She_ had_ declared that if she failed again, then she would resign of her own accord, after all.

"I know that I've declared that I would resign after I failed again, but please, Lieutenant; I want to work on nabbing the 'Steel Crown' and—"

"—I understand," Meiko replied curtly, "That's not what I meant. You've… been working hard. I shouldn't push you so hard."

"Lieutenant? That's—" Rin was bewildered and at a loss of what to say. What Meiko had said was something like she would usually not bring it out of her mouth, but it was true. She _was_ working hard. Why Meiko would suddenly bring it up (and she dare say it had actually been a compliment) was way beyond her.

"—Don't say anything. I have another important mission to brief you on; it's a good thing you managed to report for work after all. Now, I just have to look for the appropriate things." Meiko shook her head, scanning through some of the documents on the table. From where she was standing at, Rin could see that the documents were files containing numerous photos coupled with full profiles of various types of people she didn't recognize.

"Ahh—_here_ it is."

Rin moved a tad nearer to the brunette's desk, and scanned the piece of document placed on the table that Meiko had been pointing at. It was a full-paged profile with elaborate details on a young woman, and by the girlish looks of the young woman, she was roughly a few years less than twenty. The woman was slender and delicate looking; she looked like a princess who had jumped out of a fairytale… she was beautiful, gorgeous, stunning—anything to describe the epitome of beauty—but then again, those words seemed like they were too _crude_ to describe her.

"Who… who's this?" Rin questioned. There, on the top right hand corner of the page, was the woman's identity—Hatsune Miku. But still, she figured Meiko would update her with more information about her, so it would not hurt to ask.

"As you can see, this woman here goes by the name of Hatsune Miku. She's actually a top-notch model from Japan; I'm actually surprised you haven't heard of her yet. She's receiving tons of attention from the media and the public recently due to her soaring popularity with her recent photo shoots with Victoria's Secret… I've seen them myself, and I have got to agree that the shots were at least _decent_.

"However, something's up with this woman here. For the past few weeks, somebody—a _stalker_, maybe—has been sending her threatening messages attached with disturbing, bloodied images of animals with their stomachs cut open and their organs removed."

"That's sick," Rin blurted out, resisting the urge to puke in front of the brunette. "But what if it's just a hoax from the public?"

"It's not a hoax. A few days ago, she _almost_ got shot by a strange man… we don't know who it is, but we are going to investigate it."

"But isn't that the job of the Japanese police? Why are we taking this case?"

"You see," Meiko explained, an irksome look appearing on her face, "Hatsune Miku is here, in New York right now. Her manager has requested for us to take action against anybody with the intent to harm her, or the like. We _need _to ensure her safety, but since we're at it, we might as well investigate this case closely and get to the root of the problem before it aggravates.

"We don't know if it's done by a stalker, but that mysterious person's acts are sick enough… if we don't stop that person, he might cause chaos to the public and we _don't_ want that, trust me; it _has_ happened before, and it _will_ happen again if we're not careful in dealing with this case. Do you understand?"

"Alright." Rin clapped her hands with a look of determination, and nodded. "But… what am I supposed to do?"

"You'll go near her; I want you to_ protect _her from harm… and investigate the root of the problem, and then report whatever you find out to me. She's keeping a secret—I _know_ she is—and I require you to help find that out for me. Is that clear?"

"Mm, okay… but why are you letting me handle this?"

"Is that a problem?"

"I've… failed a lot of times before, and you know it. Why are you handling this case to me? I mean, you know how I'm like—"

"—If it's about what I said to you just now," Meiko interrupted, gritting her teeth. "… Then I… I apologize. My words were harsh. That was because I didn't know about you or your background then."

Rin froze. Did she have impaired hearing abilities? Was she actually hearing the right things? Meiko, the great Meiko… had just said something like that?

"W… What?"

"Kaito has told me everything, Rin. You don't have to hide anymore." Meiko leaned back in her chair, a look of unease gracing her features. "… Your mother was Prosecutor Reia Lynn. She was… she was the one that was shot dead years ago, during one of her attempts to solve an assassination case, wasn't she?"

At the sound of her mother's name, Rin stared wide-eyed with disbelief at the brunette. She knew about it! Only Kaito had known about it because he had been there to console her when she was moping about her death… why had he gone to tell her about such things?

"Colonel Kaito was only doing it because he was concerned with you," Meiko explained, spreading her hands, "Don't blame him. It is not his fault. I know it is an extremely sensitive topic to you, but… but I want to know if it is true. You _can _choose not to answer it if you're uncomfortable with explaining it to me; I'm fine with your decision. I just want to affirm it."

She stood there silently, too stunned to evoke any response from her mind. She _didn't_ want to remember it at all; she didn't even think that she would want to tell anyone about it. She wanted the horrible memories to be buried deep down at the back of her mind, hidden from her thoughts because she knew that it had had a huge impact on her when it happened.

But those memories were still memories, and they could not be forgotten no matter how hard she tried to conceal them deep in her mind.

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><p><em>"Mother, why are we here? Aren't we supposed to be eating dinner? Why did you run out of the restaurant like that?"<em>

_"I'm sorry, Rin. There's somebody here that mama needs to find—I never thought I'd see him here, but now, I finally did… I need to get him, Rin, it's a very important thing I need to do as my occupation. Do you want to go to the back?"_

_"But… but Mother—"_

_"Be good, Rin. Stay here, okay? I need to keep watch on him for a while—please."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Rin! Run, don't look back—go! Don't worry about me! Shit<em>—_"_

"_M… Moth… Mother?"_

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><p>"<em>I… found out something that I shouldn't have… Rin…"<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>M… Mother…? Mother? Why aren't you moving anymore? Are… are you asleep? Mother, please, wake up!"<em>

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

"Rin? Rin," Meiko said, trying to elicit a response from said girl; she was silently staring into blank space, and it was getting her a bit worried. "Are you alright?"

Rin shot her head up. "It's t-true."

"Are… are you sure? Is that what you have been doing all these years? Is that why you decided to become an investigator, so you could arrest criminals with the same intention as—"

"—No! No, Lieutenant; the murderer was _never_ found!"

Rin's sharp voice shocked Meiko. "W… What? What are you saying? The case was already resolved; the assassin that your mother—Reia Lynn—had been investigating on had died on the spot! He had shot himself after he had killed your mother—"

"No! No, that was… that w-was not the truth! There was a _third_ person there!"

Meiko's eyes lit up. "What? Where did you get that from?"

"S-somebody else was there," Rin said, her voice horribly shaky, "I _saw_ it. She was killed because s-someone shot her from above. She s-said she knows too much."

The brunette was silent, contemplating on her words for a moment or two.

Something cool slid down from Rin's cheek, and it took her a while to realize that they were her own tears.

She was _crying_.

Rin couldn't stop those tears from flowing out of her eyes; they had been genuine tears, tears that she had long yearned to shed since the death of her mother.

The brunette only watched as Rin broke into sobs, her whole frame trembling with memories of something that she didn't want to remember.

Memories from that night.

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><p>(to be continued)<p>

**A/N**: Not sure if you would like this chapter... Well, I didn't... erm... give you guys a cliffhanger this time, did I? D: I think this would be the last update I'm giving during this month. I'm, like, lifeless... writing and stuff. I think I need to focus on my studies now - my exams are coming TwT

Anyhoo, I hope you guys are liking the story and its pace? I don't know. I'm not very good at this... Teaser now.

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"Ahh... aren't you that model from Japan, Miss Hatsune? It's a pleasure to meet you—I'm Kagamine Len, an acquaintance of Miss Rin here."

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**_Review_**, please?


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